BY SARAH HAFIZAH CHANDRA & NOOR SYAHHIRA HADY
IT is high time to consider dividing the Kuching district into two, retaining the southern part of Kuching as its own administrative district while forming another district in Kuching North as Petra Jaya.
This was proposed by Satok assemblyman Datuk Ibrahim Baki who said in the last Population and Housing Census by the Malaysia Department Statistics in 2020, the Kuching district is home to 711,500 people.
He said this accounts for 24.47 per cent which is almost a quarter of the entire Sarawak population.
“The administration in Kuching since Sarawak Independence Day has maintained that there will only be one resident and one district officer for the entire administration area, and they continue to serve this ever-increasing population,” he said.
He said this when debating on the motion of appreciation for the TYT address on the fifth day of the 19th State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today.
Ibrahim said the Kuching city, which was officially inaugurated in 1988, saw the birth of twin administration namely Kuching North City and Kuching South City that are now known as Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara (DBKU) and Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (MBKS).
He said this was out of the need for an efficient system which would allow for a balanced development and population distribution for the two territories.
“I think the same concept applies – as the Kuching district continues to grow, the administration has to be improved vastly to cater for the needs of the community and it is the next step to the development of Kuching.
“Petra Jaya was designated as the administrative centre for the state government and continues to do so. It is therefore fitting that it is recognised as a district with its own district office and district officer,” he said.
