Premier jokes about doing ‘OT’ building homes, says Santubong must be ‘khèng-khèng’ bright

Abang Johari (seated centre) poses in a group photo with other dignitaries and RSP Santubong recipients during the house key handover ceremony on Feb 13, 2026. Photo credit: Sarawak Information Department (Japen)

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, Feb 14: Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg brought both humour and reassurance as he joked that he would even work overtime to help residents build their homes and that Santubong must never be ‘O-O’ (烏烏, dark in Hokkien) but ‘khèng-khèng’ (慶慶, bright and shining).

Speaking at the Rumah Spektra Permata (RSP) Santubong house key handover ceremony yesterday (Feb 13), he noted that each double-storey housing unit comes with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a car porch.

Abang Johari speaks during the RSP Santubong house key handover ceremony on Feb 13, 2026. Photo credit: Sarawak Information Department (Japen)

Under the design concept, he said residents can later enclose the ground floor with bricks to create extra rooms or parking space, eventually turning the house into a larger bungalow-style home.

“For those with some extra income, the lower part of the house can be turned into walls and rooms. You can arrange bricks below to make rooms while cars can be kept outside.

“The house will then have an upper and a lower level,” he said.

He added that the design does not require complicated Industrialised Building System (IBS) methods and can be easily upgraded using conventional bricks or fabricated wall panels.

“Even I know how to do it. It is not difficult; you just arrange the bricks and stack them one by one. Or you can use fabricated walls – arrange them and install them.

“If you still cannot do it, I can even take overtime to build your house,” he joked, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Abang Johari said the houses could eventually resemble the bungalow-style homes along Jalan Astana, which were initially built in a similar concept to the RSP project and later upgraded by homeowners through renovations to the lower part of their houses over time.

He also highlighted the RSP Santubong project’s scenic setting near Mount Santubong, sharing that even Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian had remarked that residents there were lucky because of the area’s good ‘feng shui’ (the traditional Chinese practice of arranging spaces for positive energy).

Satriamill Amil, a security guard, with his wife Nur Azira Laimi and their children, pose in front of a completed RSP Santubong unit on Feb 13, 2026. They are among the recipients of the housing keys.

Picking up on a Hokkien phrase mentioned in a previous function – ‘O-O’, meaning dark or gloomy – Abang Johari said Sarawak must never head in that direction.

“Earlier, during the Sumbangsih programme, Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Sarawak Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah mentioned the term ‘O-O’. So I asked Dr Sim what ‘O-O’ meant. It is a Hokkien word, and its meaning is dark or gloomy.

“I said, this is not how our State should be – it should not be dark. So I asked how we can make it bright. Dr Sim’s answer was ‘khèng, khèng’. Thus, Santubong must be ‘khèng-khèng’ – thriving and bright,” he said.

Beyond the light-hearted remarks, Abang Johari stressed that the government will continue prioritising affordable, practical housing to ensure Sarawakians enjoy a better quality of life without heavy financial pressure. – DayakDaily