Do We Need a New Building?

There is this ‘rumour’ that the government is considering moving parliament to Putrajaya; that is, if you believe The Malaysian Insider lah.

The MI report says that the government is considering moving the Parliament to the Putrajaya administrative capital, a move which could cost up to RM800 million. However, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told reporters that the Cabinet had yet to discuss the relocation. “It’s not decided yet. We will bring it to the Cabinet to be discussed,” he said. He added that the Cabinet would also look into possibly demolishing the current Parliament building. “We will look into every aspect. The Parliament is actually a heritage building so we would have to see if we could demolish it.

The minister said another option would be to refurbish the existing building, which would cost substantially less than a new construction. “We would need the RM150 million for upgrading [works], like fixing the roof and the electricity supply. while for the construction of a new Parliament [building], we might need RM800 million. So we will consider on the best proposal,” Nazri said.

This news/rumour is indeed shocking especially after we have been threatened with bankruptcy if we don’t cut down on our spending.

The current parliament building is one of the first national monuments built after independence. We shouldn’t even think of demolishing it. And what is wrong with convening our national assembly in that building? And what’s with this [bad] habit of demolishing buildings and erasing history? Who is the ‘identified’ contractor for the new parliament building? The existing building is a beautiful piece of architecture, why can’t we just maintain and preserve it for the future generations to enjoy?

Let’s not waste money la ok? We don’t need a new parliament building.