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Jalan Pahlawan to be renamed Jalan Robert Lau Hoi Chew to honour his contribution to Sibu

Posted on 11 May 2023
Source of News: The Borneo Post (Conny Banji)
Lau was Sibu MP for five terms from 1990 until his demise at the age of 68 on April 9, 2010 at Selayang Hospital in Selangor due to liver cancer. – Photo by Connie Banji
Lau was Sibu MP for five terms from 1990 until his demise at the age of 68 on April 9, 2010 at Selayang Hospital in Selangor due to liver cancer. – Photo by Connie Banji

SIBU (May 11): Jalan Pahlawan here will be renamed Jalan Robert Lau Hoi Chew, said Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting.

He said the proposal to rename the road has been approved through the Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri paper in February this year.

“Therefore, all main roads including the lanes of Jalan Pahlawan will be changed and will carry the name ‘Robert Lau Hoi Chew’.

“The council will start replacing the road signage at every lane involved.

“The relevant agencies such as the Land and Survey Department, Sarawak Energy and Sibu Water Board will be further notified too,” he told a press conference at his office in Wisma Sanyan here today.

Ting said the council will issue a notice of amendment for house address to a total of 333 holdings affected by the name change.

He said the owners of the holdings may start to change their addresses with the National Registration Department.


He said the name change was to honour the late Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew’s contributions to Sibu.

“He passed away very early and a lot of people think he had contributed a lot to Sibu.

“So I think it is appropriate if we rename the road. I am the one who proposed the renaming. The Sarawak Lau Clan Association also submitted similar proposals,” he said.

Lau was Sibu MP for five terms from 1990 until his demise at the age of 68 on April 9, 2010 at Selayang Hospital in Selangor due to liver cancer.

His portfolio included being deputy minister of housing and local government in 2004 and deputy transport minister in 2009.

He served as SMC chairman from 1999 to 2004.

Earlier, Ting said nine dengue cases were reported in the SMC area in Epidemiological (Epid) Week 1 up to Epid Week 18 this year.

He said the latest case was reported at Lorong 1, Jalan Nuri in Epid Week 18, April 30 to May 6.

“There were three cases each recorded in February and March and two cases in April.

“The locations where the cases were recorded besides Jalan Nuri were Lorong Kapor 2, Jalan Pipit, Lorong Merdeka 19, Jalan Sepetir, Lorong Rantau Panjang Jaya 3G, Lorong Rantau Panjang Jaya 3M, Lorong Harmoni 4 and Lorong Ulu Sungai Merah 36D,” he said.

On another matter, Ting reminded rate payers to settle their assessment bills for the first half of this year before May 31.

He also said the council will stop sending physical copies of assessment rate bills to rate-payers’ addresses starting this year.

“So do not wait for the bills. They can go to Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) Sibu to pay their assessment rate or through Service Sarawak mobile application,” he said.

Also present were SMC deputy chairman Mohammed Abdullah Izkandar Roseley and councillors Augustine Merikan, Rory Wong Ee Yion, Christopher Kelebit Ansa and Michelle Law Wan Ling.