A quick look at the new building of the Sarawak State Legislative reminds me of a juicer. You know, the contraption which you would normally use to squeeze out all of the juice from an orange? Another look would remind probably remind me of a hat, but thankfully… for visitors to Kuching, it would surely remind them of Kuching in the future.
Indeed, the new State Legislative building, or better known as DUN (Dewan Undangan Negeri) Sarawak by the locals, is an iconic piece that no other state in Malaysia could be-little, for now, that is. Standing majestically across the Sarawak river, the new building which cost about RM300 mil boast of many things such as a banquet hall, individual rooms for elected representatives, a convention center and an undisputed design which depicts Sarawak’s multi-racial diversity. Indeed, it is an icon, and a unique building, regardless of what others say on how much was spent on building such a magnificent building.
Now, I wasn’t really keen to go to watch the float procession and the fireworks to celebrate this new landmark at the Kuching Waterfront, but after thinking of how long has it been since Kuchings’ last river procession, I decided to attend the whole thing after all. Parking was difficult as the police closed up almost all of the roads leading to the Kuching Waterfront. Nonetheless, I was lucky enough to get a nice parking spot behind Sarawak Plaza.
By then, it was 4:30pm, and I missed the Special Regatta. So, I decided Amiey and I should go and catch a movie while waiting for the 8:00pm river float procession. A quick call to STAR Cineplex confirmed that the movie entitled “The last house on the left” was the only choice available, so we both went up to STAR Cineplex to relax and enjoy the movie, which is something we actually didn’t do as they the movie proved to be hugely thrilling leaving me wishing I could personally kill the bad guy with my bare hands that instance. It was a huge rush of adrenaline I tell you.
Anyway, at 7:45pm, I was already with the crowd waiting for the whole event to start. Some people were shoving and pushing to get to the best view, and although the Kuching Waterfront was as long as 3km, it seemed hugely inadequate to accommodate about 10,000 humans as part of the waterfront was closed to public for the VVIPs.
The float procession was refreshing, considering it wasn’t something usual in Kuching, but then again, I felt it lacked it’s glimmer. As an ordinary Malaysian citizen, I do not expect to be ushered, nor do I expect to sit down on a comfortable seat when such huge things occur at my very own backyard. What I did expect is an opportunity of a life time to watch the whole river parade and the fireworks undisturbed, especially by the authorities concern.
Nonetheless, the whole event, made me seriously feel how crap it is to be an ‘ordinary rakyat‘. I was ‘OKAY’ with no announcement on the floats. I was ‘OKAY’ with the late start. I was even ‘OKAY’ with the fact that they closed some significant parts of the Kuching Waterfront during the parade despite the whole place being left empty the whole time.
What I wasn’t ‘OKAY’ about was when those whom organized the whole event decided to smartly park/anchor two ships/boats right in front of the waterfront, hence blocking my whole view. In fact, this two boats blocked a whole lot of people, that most of those whom have been standing anxiously waiting for the parade called out for the boats to be moved, but yalah.. ‘Siapa nak dengar suara rakyat??‘ I for once felt like crap, because I felt the boats could be move somewhere else right after it the VVIPs came off board, hence maximizing the waterfront for the public.
Thankfully, the 15-minute fireworks display at the end of the whole event was stunning, and that saved the day from being a total failure.
I don’t know what you guys think, but I feel that the new DUN is something to be proud off… well, despite it somehow being a waste of money.