A file photo of the Kuching Civic Centre.
KUCHING (Aug 7): Previous allocation for maintenance of Civic Centres in Sarawak had been very small and insufficient, says Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He pointed out that these Civic Centres which are now under his Ministry, under the directive of the state cabinet, need to be restructured in terms of finance and staffing to flourish again.
“A study on the restructuring is still ongoing and will be finalised soon. Our biggest problem is maintenance and staffing,” Karim, who is also Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister told the media after officiating an event here yesterday.
The 12 Civic Centres in Sarawak are located at Kuching, Bau, Kota Samarahan, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Sibu, Mukah, Miri, Bintulu, Kapit, Baram and Limbang.
Abdul Karim said Civic Centres used to be popular venues for hosting events. However, the mushrooming of hotels in Kuching has diminished its prominence but centres in Sibu and Bintulu are still playing crucial roles .
“But it does have some role to play. We are still looking into how we want Civic Centre to flourish and be utilised for weddings, galleries and things like that,” he said, adding that the study and restructuring may take a little bit of time.
It had been reported in the media on March 15 last year that the Ministry of Youth and Sports (as it was known then)was taking over all Civic Centres in the state from the Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Ministry.
The once iconic Kuching Civic Centre which opened Aug 1, 1988 following Kuching getting city status was the place for events, weddings, concerts and exhibitions is now a shadow of its former glory needing much care and attention.