Kuching: What a coincidence? After I raised the issue of the Balai Polis Kota Sentosa land on 14 October 2026 in DUN Sarawak, the Sarawak Planning Authority, according to Wilfred Yap, approved on 22 October 2026 that the Balai Polis remain at its existing location.
Had I not exposed the land alienation of the Balai Polis land, would the so-called approval have been made, or would the Balai Polis be relocated to another place?
In fact, if it were the initial intention of the State Government to allow the Balai Polis to remain on the existing land, it would have done so at the time of alienation of the land on 5 July 2022, and not wait till more than 4 years later to approve it on 22 October 2026.
Another question on the land deal that Wilfred Yap has not answered is: Of the original 23 acres for the Balai Polis, how much has now been approved for the new Balai Polis? Half an acre, one acre, or 2 acres, while the remaining 20-plus acres remain in the ownership of the private company?
Wilfred claimed that the approval was first granted in 2006 and questioned why I did not raise the issue then. My simple reply was that the approval was hidden from public scrutiny and I did not have access to the information.
However, in 2006, there was another land alienation scandal involving some SUPP branch leaders in Kuching, the land on which the present Stutong market and the surrounding 99 shophouses were constructed.
The scandal then involved a parcel of State land being alienated to a private company owned by several of the then SUPP branch leaders in exchange for the construction of the Stutong Market on part of the land.
The SUPP leaders’ company then entered into a Development Agreement with a developer to construct the Stutong Market and 99 shophouses thereon.
In the process, each and every SUPP leader or shareholder of the company received numerous shophouse units in return without paying anything.
The bottom line in our present case — For 20-plus acres of land in Kota Sentosa at the cost of RM8.46 million land premium plus the construction costs of a Balai Polis, that is way too lucrative for any developer in Kuching. Why was that private company chosen without a proper tender being called?
Chong Chieng Jen
DAP Sarawak Chairman
Stampin MP
5 November 2026
