Manyin (seated fifth right) in a group photo with the councillors and guests.
KUCHING: The Serian District Council (SDC) is challenged to come up with a grading system for toilets in coffee shops and eateries in the town.
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Sri Michael Manyin, in giving this challenge, believed that the system, which the council could implement together with the Health Department, would improve the cleanliness level of Serian, and make it a must-stop town for travellers using the Pan Borneo Highway.
He said coffee shop and eatery owners would be compelled to go for the best grade to attract even more customers and avoid being penalised once the system is implemented.
“If they can do that, Serian will be a model town. Not easy, but I believe in five or six months’ time we can change Serian for the better. Implement the grading system, make it compulsory for coffee shops and eateries, and work together with the Health Department to make it a success,” he said at a dinner organised by the council here last Friday.
According to Manyin again, Serian is expected to grow further following the completion of a new commercial centre, the expansion of Taman Danu (lake garden), and construction and completion of an administrative complex and conference centre near the commercial centre.
He thus called on the developers to consider building more affordable residential units in Serian to build up a population with more purchasing power with new businesses coming up.
“All these will make Serian bigger. But all these will not survive without the population.
“Build residential houses in the RM200,000-RM300,000 price range. Those working in Kuching can also live there since they can easily commute to Kuching. I would like to meet the business community soon to discuss more on this (affordable residential houses),” he said.
Meanwhile, the dinner also saw the symbolic presentation of authorisation letters to all the 30 MDC councilors who included 14 new faces.
The council has a new deputy chairman in the person of Asem Linkin who replaces Dr Simon Sinang Bada a political secretary to the chief minister. The chairman post is given by default to the district officer who is not a political appointee.
In his advice to the new councillors, Manyin told them not to act like politicians when performing their duties even though they are political appointees from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties.
“Councillors are arms of the government, but please don’t act like politicians. Act like councillors,” he said.
He also advised them to be careful with what they say and do in public because whatever they do, whether right or wrong, would be viraled in social media.
Dr Sinang, Serian District Officer and SDC chairman Lim Hock Meng and the council secretary Constantine Jonas were among those present at the dinner.