Dr Abdul Rahman: Medan Niaga Permaidani set to become tourist attraction in Kuching

KUCHING (Jan 24): The ‘Medan Niaga Permaidani Kampung Boyan, Gersik dan Surabaya’ (BGS) reopened today is poised to become one of Kuching’s tourist attractions, says Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi.

He said the location of the food court is very strategic, which is placed right at the centre of Kuching.

“After a long delay, the Medan Niaga is finally completed and surrounded by touristy buildings which are also the landmarks of our state that stand majestically and beautifully, thus attracting tourists.

“On the other side, there are 12 landmarks for tourist attractions, starting with the Kuching River Bank, followed by the Darul Hana Bridge, Pangkalan Sapi, Dataran Ibu Pertiwi, Cascading Fountain, Botanical Garden, Orchid Park and many more,” the Deputy Utility and Telecommunication Minister told reporters after the reopening ceremony at Boyan Food Court today.

He urged the food operators at the Medan Niaga to sell interesting and tasty dishes which also consist of Indonesian and Korean cuisine to attract visitors and tourists alike.

He added that he would be discussing with the North Kuching City Hall (DBKU) to open a route in Kampung Sourabaya to build a parking lot as proposed by the village development and security committees (JKKKs).

“One of the problems we face here is the narrow space. As this is a traditional village, when it was developed by the government, it cannot accommodate the arrival of many vehicles.

“One of the suggestions made by the JKKKs is that we open another area in the neighbouring village – Kampung Sourabaya – for parking cars and buses, as well as providing a buggy service to send the visitors here.

“At the same time, we also have a proposal for the traffic control where the car entries and the parking spaces are monitored in the neighbouring villages. This is expected to reduce congestion,” he said.

Dr Abdul Rahman said his party and DBKU would support any proposal to solve any issues and urged the villagers to also give cooperation.

“Therefore, we will discuss with DBKU to get approval because it involves the flow of traffic to enter this area because the route here is a dead end,” he said.

Also present were Batang Sadong MP, Rodiyah Sapiee and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) general manager Datu Abdul Hadi Datuk Kadir.