Hilmy signs his letter of appointment before Abang Johari (seated centre) and State Secretary Dato Sri Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi

KUCHING (Sept 1): New Datuk Bandar Hilmy Othman aims to transform the Kuching North into a friendly city for children and an ageing society.

He said work to ensure Kuching is a friendly city for children already began with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between DBKU and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) earlier this year.

“The matter that we are going to look into is the balance of our society’s structures. In other words, what we want is to emphasise matters related to children and an ageing society.

“Then we have an ageing society, so we have to look into infrastructure that can blend with the needs of these two segments of society,” he told reporters after taking his oath of office as Datuk Bandar today.

Hilmy said he plans to build more infrastructure to suit the needs of children and the elderly.

“We already have parks, good roads, and good waste management system. So, what we want to emphasise is to look into the needs of a certain area that might require facilities such as safety for children and elderly care centres.

“We will also engage with the relevant ministries and work with them on this issue,” he said.

Hilmy Othman

Hilmy noted that DBKU would work with other councils, particularly the Kuching South City Council (MBKS), on similar initiatives and policies.

He said DBKU also welcomes collaboration with the private sector to provide better programmes and infrastructure for communities such as building elder care centres and facilities.

“With proper planning and strategies, I believe Kuching city will be better in future. But this needs us to work together, a concerted effort.”

Hilmy, 64, took his oath of office as the eighth Kuching North Datuk Bandar before Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg today.

The former Kuching South deputy mayor was appointed for a two-year term.

He succeeds his predecessor Datuk Junaidi Reduan, who retired after serving as Datuk Bandar since 2019.