Adenan to decide on controversy over naming of road

SIBU: The controversial Jalan Hospital issue is now in the hands of Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) deputy chairman Datuk Andrew Wong said the chief minister would personally look into the problem before making any recommendation.

Addressing SMC full council meeting here yesterday, he said the council was still waiting for decision from Adenan before considering their next course of action.

“He (Adenan) is well aware of the matter and he will decide on how to deal with it with the Local Government and Community Development Ministry,” he added.

Wong agreed that the issue should be handled by the council, however, said it had no control over it now since the United Chinese Association, Sibu had brought it up to the attention of the Chief Minister.

A road sign with the name “Jalan Lau King Howe” was put up before Feb 3, 2009 but it was later removed and renamed “Jalan Hospital.”

The issue first surfaced in Nov 2013 when Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said the 200m road should be named as Jalan Lau King Howe instead of Jalan Hospital as Lau King Howe Hospital was once located there.

It further sparked off a lot of public discussions due to the commercial development of the area where the developer had applied for a new name for that stretch of the road.

SMC chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King when speaking on the matter at the council’s meeting in Nobvember last year, said both the names “Jalan Hospital” and “Jalan Lau King Howe” had not been gazetted.

Tiong also said that various Malay dignitary names had been proposed to SMC in addition to the name of Lau King Howe.

“In view of the background history of that area and the generous contribution from the person of the late Lau King Howe, this council is trying its best to have an amicable outcome,” he added.

He cautioned the public that any form of one-sided petitioning on road naming without considering the history of the area concerned as well as the feeling of another quarters could be counter-productive.

On June 30, SUPP Interim Committee chairman Chieng Buong Toon issued a press statement saying that SMC should heed the wishes of the public by renaming the road as Jalan Lau King Howe instead of Jalan Hospital.

Chieng said the move was to pay tribute and as a remembrance to the late Dr Lau King Howe for his philanthropic work in setting up the hospital which was later named after him.

“We want SMC to immediately rename the road as Lau King Howe Road as the hospital had benefited all races in the town,” he said.

Sibu SUPP branch was very upset with the council as the matter (renaming of the road) had been dragging on for more than two years, he added.

“When SMC could not decide on the matter according to the wishes of the people it shows that SMC is weak,” the statement added.

Chieng supported his statement by saying that the late Dr Lau came to this town in 1915.

In 1930s, he donated $41,000 from his own money to build the hospital.

The money was not enough to complete the project but he managed to convince the British Government to match every dollar from his donation.

Lau King Howe was however demolished in 1994 and subsequently relocated to Sibu General Hospital.

Later, Lau King Howe Memorial Museum was built at the site with money donated by the public.

This medical museum is the only one in the country.

Chieng also wanted the area around the former Lau King Howe Hospital site be kept free from any commercial development.