September 3, 2013
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| RAIN OR SHINE: Mat Saat (right) and other villagers keep a watchful eye on the piling works at Kampung Datu. |
SIBU: A pile-driver was at Kampung Datu yesterday morning to lay the foundation for the reconstruction of houses razed by a huge fire on June 19, 2013.
The work began at 10.30am even though it was raining. House owner Mat Saat Bujang and several villagers stood nearby watching.
Mat Saat’s nephew Ramze Ibrahim claimed they had secured permission to rebuild their houses.
However, Assistant Minister of Youth Development Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who heads the committee to look into the re-development of Kampung Datu, said he was unsure who had given them the approval.
“From my record, there is none. All I know is that the area forms part of a development plan for Sibu, which was planned even before the fire.
“We can’t stop the registered owners from rebuilding their houses on the site, but it is advisable for them to check on the future planning for the area,” Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman, said.
Mat Saat said he would submit the building plan to the local authority upon completion of his house in a couple of months’ time. He said he was in a hurry to complete the house.
