His Majesty (on platform left) at the ground-breaking ceremony of the mosque at Telok Melano with (from second left) Mohamad Asfia, Abang Johari, Fadillah, the prince Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah and others. – Photo by Roystein Emmor

KUCHING (Sept 13): Telok Melano will soon have a mosque named after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

To be named the Al-Sultan Abdullah Mosque, once it is completed, locals hoped that the RM5 million mosque would not only be one of the landmarks of the Telok Melano but also a tourist attraction for the area as well.

This is because the mosque has a unique architecture and designers chose an ancient Malay architecture style for the mosque, according to an information notice at the venue of the ground-breaking ceremony.

“The mosque’s architecture is unique because the inspiration for this mosque’s architecture was taken from ancient Malay mosques’ architecture to reflect the location of the mosque which is within the Malay Archipelago or the Nusantara.

“Such architecture for mosques are commonly found throughout the Nusantara too,” it said.

According to the information, once completed, the mosque can accommodate up to 500 worshippers at one time, while the construction of the mosque is apt due to Telok Melano receiving many visitors after roads were built to the area.

The information also said that the construction of the mosque is also vital for Telok Melano because the area, known for its pristine beaches, is now a popular tourist attraction following the construction of the road to the area which is part of the Pan-Borneo Highway.

“Also located to at the Pan-Borneo Kilometre Zero (KM0) landmark, the mosque consists of the main prayer room, porch, imam’s room, ablution room, call to prayer room, mihrab room in addition to support rooms including the mosque’s management room, multi-purpose room, toilet and open ablution room,” it said.

Built on a 1.2-acre site on the shores of the beach at Telok Melano, the site of the mosque was determined after individuals have given the land at the mosque’s site as a waqf (endownment) to the government since the land is in a strategic place at Telok Melano.

The ground-breaking ceremony graced by His Majesty was in conjunction with His Majesty’s visit to the KM0 of the Pan Borneo Highway, which in turn is part of his 11-day Royal ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ tour.

His visit to Telok Melano also marked the last stop of the tour which began in Tawau, Sabah, on Sept 3, covering a distance of 2,154km.

Among the VIPs in attendance were Acting Head of State Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusuf, and State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki.