No other way but to adapt
Traders at city centre, Old Market have to accept changes brought about by current needs
KUCHI NG: The g reatest challenge faced by the business community at the city centre and the Old Market areas is to strike a balance between conserving the heritage and sustaining their livelihood.
According to Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) member Dato Wee Hong Seng, in order to achieve the right balance, the whole community in the two areas has to face the inevitable change brought about by current needs of all stakeholders.
“If we were to create Kuching City that has life and soul, we have to put our minds and hearts together and move on as a community so that we can preserve and conserve our heritage and, at the same time, we will be able to ensure everyone will have sustainable income,” Wee told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He expressed confidence that with the plan in place for DBKU to set up a tourism section, it would augur well for the community in the two areas.
In order for the plan to succeed, he said the community in the two areas must be willing to share their ideas so that DBKU could implement what is best for them now and for the future.
“There is no point in obtaining heritage status for Kuching when the business community does not benefit from it. So there must be a vantage point where everyone could agree and with that decision, the whole community will prosper in the long run,” he said.
Wee, who is also the president
If we were to create Kuching City that has life and soul, we have to put our minds and hearts together and move on as a community so that we can preserve and conserve our heritage and at the same time be able to ensure everyone will have sustainable income.
of India Street Merchants’ Association, pointed out that one of the initiatives taken by his association was to provide the ‘ link’ for businesses to prosper in the two areas.
“What we mean by providing the link is that we want the people who patronise our place to be able to move around freely so that they will be able to spend their quality time here. After all, the two places are now well-linked with Plaza Merdeka shopping complex, the Darul Hanna Bridge and the ( Kuching) Waterfront which will provide a rich experience of shopping in modern setting as well as the traditional ones which we offer here,” he stressed.
Wee also revealed that DBKU wi l l put up the history of each street name in the area to provide information on their rich historical heritage, which will enhance the tourism potential of the area.
Dato Wee Hong Seng, DBKU commission member
KUCHING: The loyalty of Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu ( PBB) members is the reason behind its political strength in the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said loyalty among party members and leaders was a must in addition to the willingness to take responsibility to ensure continuity in leading the future generation.
“That ( loyalty) is why PBB, as a party, is a very strong party and on top of that, we always respect the hierarchy of our leaders.
“We therefore must use this prerequisite of loyalty and respect for our leaders as a culture, and we must inculcate that into our party members and our grassroots so that we all remain united and strong,” he said prior to closing the annual general meeting for representatives of PBB Gedong and Simunjan branches here on Tuesday evening.
“PBB is a party that is now very stable and trusted by other Barisan Nasional components, and are now the backbone of the state government.
“We even have the second largest number of parliamentary seats in the country after Umno,” he added.
Awang Tengah, who is PBB senior vice president, went on to say that he wants every party member to inculcate ‘esprit de corps’ to ensure the party remains strong.
He also called on PBB members to rally behind party president, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, in pushing the state towards a digital economy.
“In the early decades, our economy was based on agriculture and commodities. Now the economy is geared towards industries and services and the latest is digital as envisioned by our chief minister who is also party president.
“We must support him (Abang Johari) and we must make the people in rural areas be more aware of this (digital economy).
“I want you all to be the ones to explain to the people in Gedong and Simunjan about what our leader is currently envisioning,” he said.
On the coming general election, Awang Tengah said members of the two branches need to throw their full support behind the candidate for the Batang Sadong constituency to ensure continued federal assistance for rural development.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of E- commerce Datuk Naroden Majais said members of the two branches who failed to secure any post at branch-level should not feel dejected or quit the party, but instead work harder and contribute more.
“We still need you and we can assign you to other sub-branches of the party to do work in order to help our party and to help our grassroots supporters,” said the Gedong assemblyman.
Naroden also read out three resolutions from the meeting – that PBB Gedong and Simunjan branches fully support Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg as party president; that there will be no- contest for the two PBB deputy president posts; and that Dato Sri Nancy Shukri defend her Batang Sadong seat in the 14th general election.
Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Julaihi Narawi was among those present at the event.