A screengrab of Chong’s Facebook Live video outside MPP headquarters.
KUCHING (Feb 9): Chairman of Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak, Chong Chieng Jen has reiterated his call for the proposed RM60-million new building project for Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) to be shelved.
Chong has deemed it unnecessary for MPP to have a new building, saying the money should be better allocated to improve the services and infrastructure in areas under the council’s jurisdiction .
“Observing from the outside, the existing MPP building is still considered quite grand and I believe there are many areas inside the building that can be better utilised,” said Chong in a Facebook Live video outside the council’s headquarters at Mile 10 here today.
Chong said the construction of a new building involved a huge sum of RM60 million, and the public has the right to voice their concerns regarding the project.
“My opinion is that there is no necessity to build a new building for MPP as RM60 million is a huge sum of money. I believe there are a lot of services under MPP that still leave much to be desired at the moment.”
The DAP leader also quipped that MPP had always pointed to the issue of lack of funds whenever members of the public complained about the poor public facilities in areas under its jurisdiction.
“Thus, I believe the existing building is sufficient for MPP to carry out its works and the proposed new building project should be shelved. The money should be used to upgrade services and infrastructure in other areas instead.”
Chong also said the location of the existing MPP headquarters at Mile 10 is more accessible to the public with its huge population density.
He thus reminded Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, and MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang that the hallmark of a good government is its quality services to the public, not the grandeur of its buildings.
Lo, meanwhile, recently explained there was a need to construct a new headquarters because the existing building did not have a multipurpose hall, auditorium and library, among other facilities, to cater for the public.
He also said that flood mitigation projects and the building of monsoon drains came under the purview of the federal government. Local councils only take care of the secondary drains that discharge water into the main drains.