Dr Abdul Rahman (back, seventh right) is flanked by Sabariah and Al-Khalid during a photo call with the winners. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: The Sarawak government is continuing its efforts to develop Kuching into a smart city.
Assistant Minister of Islamic Affairs and DBKU Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi said this is part of the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy through Old Kuching Smart Heritage (OKSHe) in collaboration with agencies such as the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA).
He said efforts would be made to maintain the components of old Kuching.
“This has been propagated by our Chief Minister (Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg), and today Kuching city itself has started to be developed as part of the smart cities in Malaysia,” he during the OKSHe Short Video and Photography competition prize-giving ceremony.
He commended OKSHe for organising the competition, which sought to maintain the authenticity of old Kuching.
Dr Abdul Rahman said the photos and videos taken by participants would serve as references for future generations.
“When our city has changed to a modern city within two to three decades in the future, the new generations would want to see how the city was developed from the beginning. As such, their references would be from the videos and the photos,” he said.
The competition held from Oct 1 to Nov 30 was divided into student and open categories.
For the photography open category, Chong Siat Choo, Hashim Mahrin, and Edanan Taiban placed first to third respectively.
Nuryasyqin Abillah won the student category, followed by Shafinah Zainal and Muhammad Izzatur Nazreen in second and third places.
Nur Syazrin Sajali won the top prize for the videography open category, while in second and third places were Song Juan Teck and Aaron Chung Chiew Fei.
Under the videography student category, first to third places went to Siti Zulaiha Md Yusof, Yu Wei Chow, and Jaibi Sabian respectively.
Among those present at the ceremony were Deputy State Secretary Datu Dr Sabariah Putit and SMA deputy chief scientist Prof Dr Al-Khalid Othman.