Yap rues illegal extensions along five-foot ways
KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party ( SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau ( PCB) chief cum Kota Sentosa Branch chairman Wilfred Yap said he received many complaints on stray dogs and illegal extensions along five-foot ways by shop owners.
While he had attended to such complaints, Yap noted that fivefoot ways of shop houses were first conceived by Stamford Raffles to keep the white men safe from rabid dogs that trolled the streets in colonial Singapore.
“The unlikely story could very well be an allegory of the current state of affairs in Sarawak.There are lessons to be drawn from five-foot ways, rabid dogs and the White Man,” said Yap.
Even today, pedestrians benefit from this innovation as they walk through the continuous rows of shop houses along many old streets in Kuching.
“I am always thankful for the five-foot ways that keep me safe from passing vehicles, the weather and perhaps even rabid dogs whenever I walk down the old shop houses in Kota Sentosa Bazaar,” he added.
Meanwhile, on another issue regarding 14th General Election, he said PRU14 is over but the noise, banter and antics are not.
“It is time for a stop to rhetoric and for all elected politicians, especially those from Sarawak to start thinking, planning and working for the benefit of all Sarawakians.
“We must ensure that our special rights enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63) are protected and safeguarded.”
Yap also hoped Sarawakian political leaders, especially those in Gabungan Parti Sarawak ( GPS) rise to the occasion and do what is right and honorable to ensure a lasting legacy and a good name for GPS in fighting for the return of Sarawak’s rights and entitlements.