Convert present KK market into a hawker centre

Published on: Sunday, October 27, 2019

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An interesting point that former CM Tan Sri Harris Salleh made was that recreation areas/parks were decreasing and that there are more shop-houses and hawker stalls in areas designated for parks (DE Oct. 17)

We would add that several pockets of valuable government land in Kota Kinabalu city have also been taken over by private businesses. In particular:

l Second-hand car showrooms, like those by the Karamunsing Centre,

l Hawker stalls at the entrance to the River Walk Park at Sadong Jaya.

These particular plots of land should, in fact, have been planted with trees to help beautify and cool the city.

Is it the government's responsibility to provide space for private businesses?

The hawker stalls in Sadong Jaya and in an area next to Hotel Promenade are made from shipping containers, making them look like shanty towns.

The Shipping Container stalls dominating the area in Sadong Jaya has spoiled the beautifully landscaped River Walk. Not only that, these hawker areas and some other hawker areas in the city do not appear to have sanitation facilities. Is this acceptable?

The old market in KK which is looking really dingy, could have been spruced up to accommodate hawker stalls and also into an Arts and Craft Centre like the old Central market in KL.

We agree totally that the old Court House should be beautified into a resting place for people on their lunch break, instead of the hawker centre that it is becoming.

Tan Sri also mentioned that several old buildings in KK look shabby. We would include the old Seven Stories Apartment building on Signal Hill, the Sabah Foundation Building, the old Secretariat in Sembulan and several government buildings into this catergory.

Not only are these buildings shabby, but seem to be underutilised as well. The government should not be constructing new buildings when all these old buildings are not fully utilised.

2-cents worth.