KUCHING, July 5 — Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii today urged the Sarawak government to explain its rationale for spending millions in public funds on a new Astana Negeri, the official residence of the Sarawak governor.
He said the state government should also disclose the cost of the whole project, the company award the contract, and whether this was through an open tender.
“The state government should also reveal if it will be more cost-efficient to repair and upgrade the existing Astana building which in my view carries much more history and should be retained as the official residence for the Head of State to preserve its heritage,” Dr Yii said in a statement.
He was responding to state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah’s statement yesterday that the state government would build a new palace to replace the current building which was built in 1870.
Dr Yii said full transparency and proper justification would ensure public support for the project.
“If not, I strongly believe that there are other important priorities and needs in Sarawak, especially when it comes to basic infrastructures and utilities.
“Even if we have extra revenues or resources, it does not give us an excuse to spend it excessively as it may have long -term repercussions to all Sarawakians,” he said.
He said he was not against turning the present Astana into a museum, but said its value as such would be the exhibits within and not the building itself.
Yesterday, Karim told reporters that a new Astana Negeri would be built to replace the current building from 1870.
Karim said the present Astana was getting old and that the state government wanted to turn it into another museum to showcase artefacts related to the governors.
The present building is located on the north bank of the Sarawak River, facing the Kuching Waterfront.
It was built in 1870 by Sir Charles Brooke, the Second White Rajah of Sarawak, as a gift for his marriage to Margaret Alice Lili de Windt.
The Sarawak governor now is Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, who was appointed to the post in 2014, after serving as chief minister for over 30 years.
