During the launch of Old Kuching Smart Heritage (OKSHE) Agenda 2019 at Kuching Waterfront last month, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state government will further develop Kuching City’s inherent beauty to make it “the most beautiful city that tourists will find impossible to resist”.
As beauty is relative, let me give my take on Kuching as it is now and what it could possibly be in the near future if local authorities and residents take concrete steps to beautify the city without turning it into a concrete jungle.
It was only last July that I first set foot in Kuching after receiving an invitation to be a facilitator for the Sarawak Tourism Workshop. When chauffeured from the airport to the Riverside Majestic Hotel, it was love at first sight seeing so many old but well-maintained buildings and shophouses in the city.
I was struck by the many old Chinese signboards advertising traditional businesses, lending an air of authenticity with heritage on display and history coming alive. To me, the greatest assets of Kuching are not new buildings or structures which may amaze people from the interior, but the old shophouses and surviving traditional trades.
I immediately felt a strong connection with Kuching. It was like finding my soul place on earth, where I wish to stay and contribute, and I would have if a local university had accepted my request to join a tourism degree programme but was rejected because of not meeting Malaysian Qualifications Agency’s requirement.
As an Asean master tourism trainer and having conducted training for national trainers on travel agencies for participants that included professors and lecturers with PhD in tourism, I do not need a bachelor’s degree in tourism, and my consultancy services are sought after by trade associations.
My plan was to assist tourism lecturers and undergraduates at the campus, and promote the local tourism industry, including traditional trades in the city that would interest the Chinese diaspora spread around the world, by writing on the history of surviving businesses and the people now behind the scene, and posting video clips online to attract more tourists to Kuching.
Sightseeing tours around the city, including full day and night tours were already popular in Kuala Lumpur half a century ago, and Kuching could do the same today as I could train the locals to exploit the full potential of the city by turning what residents consider ordinary or mundane into something interesting or fascinating to tourists.
Just like remaining virgin jungles ought not be logged, existing old buildings should not be torn down. And if owners are not allowed to demolish their old properties, various forms of assistance could be given to subsidise maintenance costs or increase tourism revenue.
Apart from its people, the greatest assets of Sarawak are its jungles and old shophouses in the cities and towns, and both are symbiotic. Desecrating one will affect the other and along with them the rich heritage of Sarawak that tourists come to witness and experience.
Old areas of the city must be conserved, and it would be tragic to replace old shophouses with high-rise buildings in between, which will stick out like sore thumbs. Instead, all new buildings in the city should be clustered in new development zones.
The locals are bound to marvel at expensive man-made structures such as fountains and light shows, particularly at Kuching Waterfront, but the majority of foreign tourists who could make their way to Kuching have seen more fanciful things and are not be easily impressed.
With a relatively small population, Kuching will never be able to rival major cities around the world in terms of man-made structures. But thanks to its hospitable people and mother nature, it can be “the most beautiful city that tourists will find impossible to resist”.
We should be mindful that a person with good looks can appear terribly ugly when feeling rotten inside. On the other hand, anyone can be beautiful, with or without makeup, with a happy smile.
If locals are trained to establish eye contact with tourists, waive and smile at them habitually, tourists will find Kuching as the city with the most beautiful people.
And to light up the day even more, the city could be planted with an abundance of flowers, plants with colourful leaves and flowering trees. Residents can show they are proud of their homes and neighbourhood by planting flowers just in front of their houses.
Imagine tourists travelling past in tour vehicles looking at this riot of colours for a kilometre or more at a selected residential area.
But it is not necessary to paint buildings, particularly old shophouses, in gory colours as this will make them look unauthentic. They only need to be clean and tidy, and this include the roads, drains and public toilets, as just one horror chamber is enough to make the city ugly.
City streets must be pedestrian-friendly and not an obstacle course forcing tourists to walk on the road meant for motor vehicles when pavements are cut off or five-foot ways blocked. And large new hotels should be built with a separate entrance for tour buses.
When funds are available, a state-of-the-art tourist centre should be built in the city. It must be big enough to house all the best local foods and products to be sold under one roof.
Without the convenience of a one-stop centre, visitors will have to run around but many do not have the time or energy to do so.
Whether visitors would return or recommend others to visit depends more on how tourist-friendly a destination is, and less on other factors. Man-made structures meant to show-off may work on some but are a put-off to many.
But when both tourism service providers and residents show they are happy and delighted to meet visitors; when the people in the city are proud of their heritage and continue to trade in old shophouses; when houseowners are proud of their homes and neighbourhood by planting flowers to celebrate life; Kuching would become the tropical paradise many tourists are looking for to visit.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
