Inanam to have RM10 million hall as promised by PM
KOTA KINABALU: City Hall has been tasked with coming up with the design for a RM10 million hall for Inanam.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the design must reflect the rich culture of folks in Inanam and ensure that the hall has modern functionality.
The hall which will be built adjacent to the Inanam night market, was promised by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, he said.
“Today I announced an allocation of RM10 million for a hall that was promised by our Prime Minister. I want City Hall to spend a little bit of time on the design with focus on making the hall a hub for youngsters to carry out their programs.
“I want the hall to be an iconic one as well as one that is a tourist attraction,” he said after officiating City Hall’s Program Ramai-ramai di Inanam’ here yesterday.
The minister in charge of the Economic Planning Unit also told reporters that a Sepanggar Consultative Council had been set up to look into resolving the problems in the area and to develop it.
“I know City Hall has plans for Sepanggar but we have to remember that it also needs to look after other areas under its jurisdiction. This council will be responsible to discuss the problems and issues, social, economy, industry, religion, anything that has to do with Sepanggar,” he said.
Members of the council, Abdul Rahman disclosed, will comprise of academicians, sociologists, economists, town planners from UMS, UiTM, chambers of commerce as well as captains of industries.
“The findings will be presented to City Hall and Chief Minister. We want the voices of the grassroots to be heard and appreciated by the government. I am sure there is already mechanism but I want it to be a bit more focused. Our job is to help City Hall as well as the state and federal governments to develop Sepanggar.
“I will chair the quarterly meetings but the working committee will be chaired by the economy professors in UMS. They are more than happy to do so. This is the platform for them to give ideas and opinions about Sepanggar specifically and Kota Kinabalu in general,” he added.
According to Abdul Rahman, he wanted to take advantage of the academicians’ presence in UMS and UiTM and want them to use their talents and experience to actually understand the issues on the ground.
“No more talk about ‘generally’. They must go down to the ground to find out the issues. Sometimes we as leaders are biased, sometimes we do not get the actual input so we want a third party to be the basis to hear them out,” he said.
Abdul Rahman said that as the minister in charge of the EPU, he knows Sepanggar has a lot of potential and also wants some of the remaining problems with regards to water supply to be given specific attention.
“I have discussed with Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa to see how this problem can be resolved. To me, as the minister in charge of EPU, I see Sepanggar has a very big potential for development and growth. So we have to have a very focused and well-thought planning for Sepanggar.
“I am sure City Hall has it, I am sure they have drawn up the development plans for Sepanggar. That is why in these couple of weeks I will be getting a more detailed briefing from City Hall on its development plans for Sepanggar,” he said.
At the day-long event yesterday, Abdul Rahman flagged off the Unity Ride, Unity Walk, went for a walkabout in Inanam town, presented prizes and visited the exhibition booths.
Also present were City Hall Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai, Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ayid, acting Sepanggar Umno chief Datuk Yakub Khan, former Inanam assemblyman Datuk Johnny Goh and community leaders.