Alexander (standing centre, wearing cap) and others pose for a photo before the start of the `gotong royong’.
KANOWIT: An association will be set up very soon to look after the 50-year-old ‘Bumiputera Guest House’, locally known as ‘Rumah Temuai’.
Ngemah assemblyman Alexander Vincent said this was for the benefit of longhouse residents from Sungai Ngemah and Sungai Poi who regularly stayed there when they came to town.
He said they needed a place to stay while waiting for a new ‘Rumah Temuai’ to be built.
“Some of the people that I met disagreed with the plan for the new building because it involves relocating the ‘Rumah Temuai’.
“They said if it were relocated, it would be very inconvenient for them because they cannot leave their outboard engines unattended and risked being stolen.
“Furthermore, the new location is quite a distance away from shops at the town,” he said when met by reporters at a `gotong royong’ to clean the ‘Rumah Temuai’ on Saturday.
Alexander said the ‘Rumah Temuai’, located near Kanowit River, was popular as it offered cheap lodging for those from outstation.
They stayed at the ‘Rumah Temuai’ to look after their sick family members at KanowitHospital or to send their children to school or to wait for relatives returning home for Gawai Dayak, he said.
Among the facilities available are ceiling fans, rubber mat, power points, kitchen, and bathrooms.
The rate for those staying at the ground floor is RM2 per night per family, while those staying in rooms upstairs are charged RM5 per night per room.
There are five rooms upstairs and the occupants shared the bathrooms and kitchen.
Alexander said the place would continue to be maintained even though there was a plan for a new ‘Rumah Temuai’.
On a related matter, he said he would talk to Kanowit District Council to request that the road behind the place to be closed permanently for the safety of children and elders staying there.
At the function, he announced a RM5,000 grant for gas stoves, dish racks, cooking utensils and a refrigerator for the ‘Rumah Temuai’.
Meanwhile, lodger Mading Aji, 76, from Rumah Jalak, Nanga Nirok, said she was glad the facilities at the place were better than before.
“They were poorly maintained then. Previously, we had to bring our own mat or else we had to sleep on the wooden floor,” she said.
The gotong royong was initiated by SK Ulu Ranan headmaster Andrew Mail Sangong, Tun Jugah Foundation research director Dr Robert Menua Saleh, and SMK Sedaya ex-principal William Baja Jap.
A view inside the ‘Rumah Temuai’.
(From right) Alexander’s wife Susan Clement, Alexander and Robert paint the wall of the ‘Rumah Temuai’.