There is a Sarawak government building being built at Petra Jaya, with the building being dubbed ‘Sarawak’s White House’ by some due to its slight similarities with the administrative centre and residence of the President of the United States.
On Google Maps, someone had taken the liberty to label the currently under construction building as ‘Premier of Sarawak’s Residence’ prompting many to believe it is and likely going to be the official residence of the current and future Premier of Sarawak as there is currently no such residence in Sarawak.
According to an article by DayakDaily, the last official residence for the head of the Sarawak Government was located at Rumah Sarawak, which is located at Jalan Taman Budaya.
The location and facade
From outside, the main building is hard to miss if one goes to Stadium Sarawak using Datuk Amar Abang Haji Suleiman as it occupies a massive plot of land opposite the Sarawak State Mosque (Masjid Jamek) and Pustaka Sarawak.
To be more precise, the building is just beside Menara Pelita which according to Zecon’s website, currently houses the Sarawak Premier’s penthouse office, Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) Sarawak, the Agricultural Department, the Land & Survey Department, the Sarawak State Treasury Department and Sarawak Incorporated Sdn Bhd (SISB).
Despite being heavily covered by scaffolding, the building looks likely to be painted white with grey roofing completing its modern and minimalist look, suitable for an administrative or government building.
In front, a vacant land seems to be prepared for a rectangular shape decoration, likely fitting what could be a floral arrangement of the Sarawak flag.
New administrative centre
In another article, Borneo Post reported that Sarawak Premier, had confirmed that the building would be Sarawak’s new administrative building.
The report quoted the Premier as saying that the new administrative building would be an administrative centre, citing that the current government building at Wisma Bapa Malaysia has become a public building with unrestricted access.
This new building therefore will be fortified with advanced security which will include a data centre.
Other details regarding the building were not disclosed in Borneo Post’s report.
To be named “Sri Pertiwi”?
The mysterious building has definitely got the public talking with quite a number saying that it is about time Sarawak had such building to reflect its government, akin what Malaysia with Putrajaya.
Some were also quick to give a name to the building with many favouring the name “Sri Pertiwi”.
The name almost mimics the name of the official residence for the Malaysian Prime Minister which is “Sri Perdana”.
The difference of course is in the name “Pertiwi” which literally translates to “Homeland” in Malay. “Sri” on the other hand is comes from Sanskrit origin, and is usually considered a honorific title associated with beauty and majesty.
Together, “Sri Pertiwi” would loosely mean “The motherland” which doesn’t sound too bad considering it is going to be the centre of governance in Sarawak.
Interestingly, the name Sri Pertiwi is also used by the Sarawak Housing Development Corporation to name their affordable housing project.
That said, the name “Sri Pertiwi” to reflect the administrative building of Sarawak does have a nice ring to it, but it remains a guessing game for now if the building will earn such name in the near future, or be called something more formal or boring like “Sarawak Administrative Building”.
