Abdul Karim hopes for Carpenter Street ‘walking trail’ with no cars, only pedestrians

0

Abdul Karim (centre) checking out a handmade product at one of the shops operating at Carpenter Street while accompanied by Lim (from left), Ting and Wee. Photo by Chimon Upon.

KUCHING (March 16): The historical Carpenter Street should be converted into a walking trail with traffic being allowed only during certain hours of the day, opined state Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

“I would love to see this area (Carpenter Street) become a place just for pedestrians, something like a boulevard, while loading and unloading of goods can only take place during certain hours of the day,” said Abdul Karim when sharing his personal views on the tourism potential of Carpenter Street.

He hoped that such a proposal would become a reality in the future, where roofing similar to the one at the nearby India Street could be constructed at Carpenter Street to provide shade for tourists and locals like from the weather.

Abdul Karim said this during a press conference after the launching of the ‘Kuching Old Bazaar’ project at Carpenter Street here yesterday.

The project was headed by Kuching Old Market Community Association and it was set out to preserve the history, traditions and culture of old Kuching.

As part of the project, Abdul Karim said a historical book regarding Kuching Old Bazaar had been produced, as well as four tourism brochures, five promotional videos, 40 information plaques with a scannable QR code, a dedicated website, the setting up of profile pages on social media platforms and street arts presentation.

“As we know, Kuching Old Bazaar was one of the first trading commercial centres and oldest bazaars in Sarawak. The area has witnessed many changes over the past 200 years of its history and it is indeed an important community in Sarawak,” he said during the launching ceremony.

Abdul Karim also opined that the Kuching Old Bazaar project will be a refreshing tourism product in Kuching, apart from the Intercultural Mooncake Festival and the three spectacular Goddess Parades from the two temples located along the street, namely Hiang Thian Siang Ti Temple and Hong San Si Temple.

He also remarked that the Kuching Old Bazaar brand should be expanded to include other areas in Padungan and India Street, as these places could be considered as part of the old Kuching heritage.

Nonetheless, Abdul Karim enthused that he hoped the Kuching Old Bazaar would one day be able to rival the brand of Singapore’s Chinatown, Penang’s Georgetown and Malacca’s Jonker Walk.

Apart from that, Abdul Karim said a unit should be set up to look after sunset industries that were synonymous with Kuching’s history, such as supporting the boat operators along Sarawak River at Waterfront to sustain their business going forward.

He remarked that the state government was also planning to establish a craft centre in Kuching to serve as an avenue to promote local craft products and to draft a new Sarawak Craft Council Ordinance to further develop the state craft industry.

Among those in attendance were deputy minister Datuk Sebastian Ting, the ministry’s permanent secretary Hii Chang Kee, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng and Kuching Old Market Community Association president Kapitan Lim Chuan Chan.