Why new court not facing sea?
Published on: Sunday, March 05, 2017
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THE new court building that stands majestically on a hill a stone’s throw from Karamunsing is supposed to be a landmark for Kota Kinabalu.
Even before its construction there was controversy as apparently the Sabah judiciary side wanted the building to portray a Sabah identity but the then defacto Law Minister overruled saying it should just be a copycat structure like courts in the peninsula.
Hence a great opportunity to incorporate a Sabah flavour was missed, although many believe the real reason was because to change the design would mean disappointing the intended contractors.
Then there was concern about the century-old raintrees being wantonly cut, which your paper thankfully stopped.
However, the greater disappointment is that the building’s front facade is now facing the Crocker Range while the back of the building is facing the beautiful seafront that Sabah is famous for.
What we Malays call terbalik (in reverse).
I wish to know the rationale for this when at the opening of the KK High Court building in the early 1960s, the learned judge, a white man, remarked that Sabah must be one of the few places in the world where judges can make good decisions aided by the calmness of the blue sea in the horizon.
Curious
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