Highlight a place to call home - BorneoTalk Official Website

Soul City
DBKU strive to
make Kuching
City a vibrant and
liveable city of
City
choice
with a
and understanding, sometimes to
the point of taking them to our own
homes! This is the Kuching that
people from all over the world who
have been here have noticed about
us and we certainly do not want
to change from being a warm and
friendly city to be just like any other
city without a soul.”
Mayor Datuk
Haji Abang
Abdul Wahap
Cities across Asia are
experiencing tremendous
growth with the increasing
economic wealth and influx of
investments, people and infrastructures
to the point of competing with
each other for world records in such
achievements! All too often cities
become lonely places with such high
rise buildings and complexes leading to
people becoming complete strangers
to neighbours, indifferent and turning
a cold shoulder to those living on the
periphery of society. Kuching City
too has seen much development as
the capital city of the state with new
industries, shopping centres and
residential properties sprouting all
around; the difference is that it still has
its soul and vitality!
“We certainly don’t want our
beloved city Kuching to be just like
4 | BorneoTalkApr-Jun2012
any other cities where people are
always hurrying along their own
agendas and not caring at all about
their surroundings, neighbourhoods
or marginalized people like rural
migrants and the handicapped,
urban poor and elderly,” said DBKU
Mayor Datuk Haji Abang Abdul
Wahap. “While we acknowledge
that the city is a natural melting pot
for people from different places,
cultures, religions and age group, we
nevertheless do not want them to be
indifferent to one another. Kuching
must strive to maintain its soul and
vitality, conscience and apathy to
everyone, everywhere every time.
After all, Kuching is often called
the ‘City of Smiles’ and we certainly
have not earned this title by being
inconsiderate or indifferent; in fact,
we have always welcomed strangers
and showed them our sincere care
“Fortunately for us, we had the
foresight of our Chief Minister who
long ago foresee the emptiness of cities
without vitality and soul by putting
in place the necessary conditions
to ensure that these will not affect
Kuching City with proper planning of
inner and outer city limits, clean and
proper maintenance of streets and
buildings, preservation of historical
buildings and encouraging greater
diversity of cultures, architectural
concepts and balanced developments
in different parts without jeopardizing
any area from being further developed
in future. All these have paved the
way for a balanced and structured
development agenda, which ultimately
brings people from all walks of life