KUCHING: Kuching celebrated its 35th anniversary as a city on August 1.
It was officially inaugurated as a city on Aug 1, 1988 after an application for Kuching to be elevated to city status was made at the behest of the people.
The petition was made by the Chairman of Kuching Municipal Council (KMC) at that time, to the Minister responsible for Local Government, who motioned for a resolution pertaining to the matter on July 18, 1984.
Both the petition and resolution were given the assent of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri the following year, and later for the consideration of the Conference of Rulers. In July 1986, the resolution was approved by the Conference of Rulers.
Some of the qualities a town must have in order to become a city includes financial independence in management and development; centre of trade and commerce for its immediate areas; administrative centre of the state, institutions of higher learning, well-established library, among others.
Previously, Kuching was known as the Municipality of Kuching and parts of it were administered by Kuching Rural District Council (KRDC) and Kuching Municipal Council (KMC).
With the city status, Kuching was then divided into Kuching North and Kuching South.
Kuching South largely covers the area previously under KMC – now known as Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and is headed by a mayor.
Meanwhile, Kuching North refers to a significant part of areas formerly administered by KRDC and areas under former KMC. It is placed under the jurisdiction of a Commissioner who is assisted by a Board of Advisers.
The first Mayor of Kuching South was Datuk Song Swee Guan while the first Commissioner for Kuching North or Datuk Bandar was Datuk Dr Yusoff Hanifah.
The city’s twin administration was born out of the need for an efficient system which would allow for a balanced development and population distribution for the two territories.
To commemorate the day, normally MBKS and DBKU will take turns to host Kuching City Day, with the latter hosting this year’s celebration.
Various activities are in the lineup and this include the ongoing Kuching Festival Food Fair, Kuching Street Parade in conjunction with 60th Sarawak Independence on Aug 5, Siol International Mountain Bike Challenge (SIMBC) on Aug 25-27, DBKU International Cat Show on Sept 2-3, among others.
