Come clean over new Astana building, Sarawak govt told

Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii said if the state can be transparent and justify the need for a new Astana Negeri building, the people will accept it.

PETALING JAYA: The Sarawak government needs to be transparent in its plan to construct a new Astana Negeri building, the official residence of the state governor, says Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii.

The DAP leader told the state government to disclose the cost, the company given the project and whether this was an open tender.

Yii added that the state government must also explain why the state needed a new Astana Negeri building.

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“If the state government can be transparent and justify properly the need for such a project, the people of Sarawak may even support it if it is really good for the state.

Kelvin Yii.

“If not, there are other priorities, especially when it comes to improving basic infrastructure and utilities,” he said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Sarawak tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah announced that the state government will build a new Astana Negeri, saying the current building, overlooking the Sarawak River, was 153 years old and slightly run-down.

Yii said the government should not be spending any of the state’s extra revenue or resources excessively to avoid long-term repercussions for Sarawakians, calling for prudence. - FMT