IT may just be too late to save the historic 1870s fish market on the Kuching waterfront.

“Only a quarter of the original market was left when I visited the waterfront yesterday,” Kuching City North councillor Peter Pui said.

“If only demolition work was stopped a few days ago, it could still have been salvaged.” Pui, who has been fighting for the preservation of the building, said the Garment Store was still standing, but the fish market, considered a more relevant part of the waterfront, had not been spared.

Despite being a councillor, he has not been able to obtain the plans for the development of the area from the city council, nor any bit of information verbally either.

Pui said city council officers did not respond to his queries. He said some pillars of the buildings could be preserved despite the demolition. The Member of Parliament for Kuching, Chong Chieng Jen, said the city waterfront was definitely of historical value.

“However, without the people, the fish market basically lost its charm,” he said, adding that the people flooding the place, including the traders, kept the area alive.

“The market could have been maintained for the traders to continue running their businesses. With the people gone, a part of the history of Kuching was also lost,” he said. Chong said the traders were forced to move to a bigger market 4km away last year.

They did not accept the move well, he said, as they found it difficult to sustain their earnings because not many people went to the new market. Only two out of seven buildings are left standing in the historic part of the Kuching waterfront.

All the buildings in the waterfront enclave are to be torn down by the end of the year under plans sanctioned by Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud, under which an esplanade will be created for families to relax during the weekends.