Sarawak Heritage Society wants meeting with DID on retaining old Nurses’ Quarters

KUCHING (Aug 7): The Sarawak Heritage Society (SHS) is seeking an audience with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Sarawak to further discuss retaining the old Nurses’ Quarters building at Jalan Crookshank.

SHS president Datin Rosemarie Wong-Jabu said the society hopes the current building could be retained as a heritage site, and for the Sarawak government to identify another piece of land for flood mitigation purposes.

“But if this is ultimately the only possible site for the retention pond, perhaps authorities can consider to retain parts of the building, at the very least the facade, to keep the historical integrity of this significant site,” she said in a statement.

The statement comes in response to Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah call yesterday for the plan to demolish the old Nurses’ Quarters to be suspended pending a study of alternative proposals to mitigate flooding in the surrounding area.

A water retention pond had been proposed at the site of the old Nurses’ Quarters to address flooding at the Sarawak General Hospital and its surrounding areas during heavy downpours.

Wong-Jabu said any member of public wishing to contribute ideas on alternative engineering methods to mitigate flood issues while preserving the Nurses’ Quarters can contact SHS via its website at www.sarawakheritagesociety.com.

She opined it is important to preserve and repurpose the Nurses’ Quarters, which dates back to the colonial era.

“The building can either be repurposed as a dwelling for deserving families of those seeking treatment at SGH, or hold exhibitions on medical history and inspire more people to join the nursing profession.

“The Nurses’ Quarters is a living testimony of medical development in Sarawak, and it is imperative that we preserve this building for future generations. It is a monument, and as such is part of our heritage. It’s a monument to the pioneering of the outstanding nursing profession of Sarawak,” she said.

SHS agreed that a proper investigation should be carried out, and a second opinion to be sought, she said.

She added SHS is grateful that a stop work order has been proposed, and recommended the Nurses’ Quarters be appraised and considered for listing.

“The colonial architectural style of the old Nurses’ Quarters mirrors the older section of the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) building which still serves as part of the hospital, and façade authentically kept by the Ministry of Health.

“As the Nurses’ Quarters, this sentimental building would have had a rich history, and noble purpose to house trained and skilled nurses in the important service of health care,” she said.

She pointed out the building represents the architecture of a period of Sarawak’s history.

“It is elegant and designed to fit its purpose – a comfortable establishment and landscaped, to house young ladies, who came from all over Sarawak, to be trained as nurses. There is social care and culture embedded in the design.

“SHS and concerned members of the public feel we should at least honour and preserve the building site for being a ground of salvation which would have touched the lives of so many people through these nurses,” she said.

The old Nurses’ Quarters, which was constructed in 1953, housed trainee nurses and staff of SGH, the largest hospital in Sarawak.

It has not been in use for almost 30 years after the Ministry of Health built nursing training institutes at Jalan Puncak Borneo and Kota Sentosa.

The Sarawak Health Department stopped using the quarters in 2018 and moved to the new training centre in Penrissen.

On Sunday, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the government would look into the SHS’ request for the historic Nurses’ Quarters at Jalan Crookshank to be preserved.