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KUCHING, July 10: Sarawak human rights activist Peter John Jaban is urging the Sarawak government to rethink its current building programme and focus on projects for the people.
“Is one palace not good enough for the Governor? Does he really need a second, bigger one, rising above the first like Goliath menacing David? Does Kuching really need a museum dedicated to the governors when it has just spent millions in public funds on the gigantic Borneo Cultures Museum? Does the Premier need a new complex of offices on the other side of the river? In fact, was becoming ‘Premier’ really the most important achievement of our autonomy?” he asked, in a statement today.
Peter John pointed out that Sarawak’s first Rajah Sir James Brooke lived in a modest wooden house with a ‘balai’ to meet his people, as did Datuk Patinggi Abdul Gapur who is an ancestor of the current Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“Kuching was built by the people from India and Carpenter Streets, from Kampung Astana, and by the residents of KMC flats or of the Petanak longhouse, where my own relatives lived together in one structure. It is not a city of Kings and Princes,” he added.
He emphasised that what Kuching city needs is to show the world what it stands for in the 21st century.
“We need new infrastructure to support our autonomy, and not all of that can be schools and hospitals. But this infrastructure should support the people. It should remain true to the Sarawak spirit.
“While our traditional wet markets decline and decay and our rural people still go without hospitals and clinics, the last thing that Kuching should be building is another palace. Please reconsider this plan and remember the Sarawak way,” he said.
On June 30, according to a reliable source, a new Astana building will be built on a plot of land between Jalan Astana Lot and Sarawak Botanical Garden. — DayakDaily
