KUCHING: The colonial-era Sarawak General Hospital's nurses' home here, slated for demolition to make way for a flood mitigation project, has been spared the wrecking ball.
Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Hamzah, who is against the plan, has got his wish to put the demolition on hold after he brought the issue to the state cabinet.
Sarawak Heritage Society president Datin Rosemarie Wong-Jabu confirmed with The New Straits Times a stop work order had been issued to halt all work on the approximately 1.2 hectares of land on which the building, also known as the Sarawak General Hospital nurses' quarters, sits.
The Department of Irrigation and Drainage was reported to be on the verge of tearing down the 71-year-old building to make way for the building of flood retention ponds to mitigate the frequent flooding of the hospital on the opposite side of the Jalan Tun Openg road.
Wong-Jabu said Karim's ministry, which has a purview on the preservation of heritage and historical buildings, has also been directed to seek a second opinion on the status of the building – if it is really a heritage building as many people claimed it to be and for the ministry "to look at solutions to save the building."
"We (the heritage society) have requested to be invited to discussion meetings," she added.
Wong-Jabu said SHS had previously proposed to seek a second opinion on the status of the building after a former director of the Museum Department had declared that the home was not a heritage building.
SHS has also offered ideas of what can be done, she added.
The Sarawak tourism minister had in August said he was caught by surprise on hearing the DID had received the approval to tear down the building.
He said the former museum director should have referred the matter to him when he (the former museum director) was approached by the DID for an opinion if the home was a heritage building.
Karim said the former museum director had no power to make a unilateral decision of this nature.
Echoing the sentiments of those who want to save the building, Karim said "that old buildings" were "very sentimental to a lot of people in Kuching, especially to the people who have been through it."
A heritage building, once demolished, could never be rebuilt, he added.
"If it can be saved, then save it."
The state government acquired the land from the federal government in 2022.
The former nurses' home was used to house trainee nurses and staff of the SGH, the largest referral hospital in the state.
The quarters played a crucial role in the daily lives of nurses, who often had to stay on-site due to the lack of transportation options and the demanding nature of their shifts.
The Sarawak Health Department stopped using the nurses' home in 2018 and moved to the new training centre in Penrissen.
This move was part of the department's efforts to improve training facilities and accommodation for nursing students and staff.