KUCHING: The Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) today received an initial RM6.75 million government grant for the construction of its RM16 million community hostel building.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg presented a cheque for the amount to the association’s chief advisor and Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong. The balance will be presented within the next six months.
The RM16 million government grant was pledged by the chief minister during the DBNA New Year gathering cum 65th anniversary dinner on January 10 this year.
The nine-storey hostel will be built on the site of the existing two-storey building which houses the DBNA headquarters at Jalan Kumpang here.
It will include a gallery, function rooms, dormitory and 98 hostel rooms that can accommodate 196 people.
Construction work on the iconic building for the Bidayuh community is expected to commence in January next year and completed within two years.
Once completed, it will provide affordable accommodation for members of the Bidayuh community who need to come down to Kuching from their villages for urgent matters such as seeking medical treatment at hospitals here.
It will also become a transit centre for rural Bidayuh students before they board flights outbound from Sarawak.
The new building will also supplement the existing facilities and enable DBNA to organise more programmes and activities including seminars.
In 1963, the DBNA built its first wooden headquarters on a piece of land given by the Sarawak government at Jalan Kumpang at a cost of RM13,000.
It was officially opened on Dec 28, 1963 by Sarawak’s first Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan.
It was also the very first project set up by the Bidayuhs – a powerful sign of Bidayuh unity in action.
In 1982, the current headquarters building was built at a cost of RM500,000 under the helm of Datuk Wilfred Nissom and assisted by Datuk Stephen Jussem Dundon, Nicholas Gunjew, Datuk Peter Minos, and Austin Dimin. It was officially opened on July 3, 1982.
DBNA then built its current landmark multipurpose hall in 2010, costing RM3.67 million. This was completed in 2011.
