By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 12: A fire that broke out on Ewe Hai Street last Friday (March 8) has not only affected six shophouses but also left six supermarket employees and six families without a place to stay.
Additionally, the blaze has impacted four businesses, including a recently opened coffee shop and a planned western cuisine restaurant.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii’s special assistant George Lam stated that the fire victims are divided into three categories: shophouse owners, business tenants, and residential tenants.
“I went there representing Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen, to meet with the fire victims to collect their basic information. This is to allow the Bandar Kuching Parliament Service Centre to give out financial assistance to those affected.
“After collecting the information from all victims, I found out that the fire victims can be categorised into three categories, which involve the shophouse owners, business tenants, and residential tenants,” he was quoted as saying in a press statement.
He went on to say that the recently opened coffee shop, managed by a group of young people, had been running for just three months since its launch in November 2023 and was sadly impacted by the fire.
Lam further noted that the planned western cuisine restaurant was under renovation and was scheduled to open by the end of this month, but was unable to due to the fire.
“It is always proud to see that youths are back to Kuching to start up their own business. Furthermore, they chose to start up their business in one of the places with the most historical and cultural background. Sadly, their efforts became ash after the fire broke out.
“YB Dr Kelvin Yii’s team will continue to follow up with the Fire and Rescue Department to find out the cause of the fire. Our team will work hard to provide financial aid to the victims affected in these fire incidents,” he said. — DayakDaily
