Kota Kinabalu: Former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee called for the fire-damaged Kota Kinabalu Community Centre to be restored to its original design instead of demolishing the heritage building.
“No demolition, please. Heritage cannot be replicated,” Yong said, in a statement, Thursday.
“Whatever the plans are for the site, there should be no demolition. Do not demolish and rebuild from the ground upwards because that would eliminate all memories of the historic events that occurred there and remove all traces of the historic building,” he said.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});The community centre was partly destroyed in a recent fire that primarily affected the eastern section of the building.
Yong conducted a site visit Thursday and found the main hall’s concrete walls largely intact despite the blaze.
The building was gazetted as a Cultural Heritage Conservation site under the Sabah Cultural Heritage Conservation Enactment 1997, giving it legal protection from demolition.
Yong recommended restoring the structure with upgrades limited to the toilet and cafe facilities to preserve its heritage status.
He noted the roof requires complete reconstruction but said the original concrete walls remain structurally sound.
He also cautioned against replacing the historic venue with a modern convention centre, saying such facilities lack cultural significance.
“I recall that in the 1980s, there were attempts to demolish the community hall and build a new commercial complex on the site.
“However, upon gazetting of the community centre as a cultural heritage conservation site in 1997, the hall has become a protected site, including protection from commercial interests,” he said.
Yong called on Kota Kinabalu City Hall and the Sabah Cultural Heritage Council to recognise the site’s value, noting the scarcity of heritage buildings in the State Capital.
The community centre has hosted notable events spanning the colonial era to the present day. Its future depends on restoration decisions by local authorities.
“We should resist the temptation to build another so-called modern convention centre to replicate a convention centre or commercial building that is devoid of cultural heritage.
“Heritage is something that has withstood the test of time and has entered the collective psyche and memory of the local people,” he said.
