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I Love SarawakNews · Culture · Land of the Hornbills
Culture & HeritageKuching Division

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly

The golden nine-sided roof across the river — a modern building shaped from the terendak, the Malay sunhat, and now Kuching's defining silhouette.

By · Editor, I Love Sarawak

Facts checked

The nine-sided golden spired roof of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building on the riverbank
Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The place

Sarawak's legislature — the Dewan Undangan Negeri, universally the DUN — moved into this building on the north bank of the Sarawak River in 2009. Its roof is a nine-sided golden spire drawn from the terendak, the wide Malay sunhat, and it has become the single most recognisable modern silhouette in the state.

Whatever one makes of the architecture, it does the job a parliament building is meant to do: it is visible from most of the Kuching riverfront, it is lit at night, and it anchors the north bank the way the Astana and Fort Margherita anchor the reach upstream. The Darul Hana Bridge was built in part to connect it to the old town on foot.

Highlights

  1. The terendak roof, best appreciated from the south bank at distance
  2. Floodlighting after dark, with the reflection in the river
  3. The Darul Hana Bridge sweeping across in the same view
  4. The contrast with the Brooke-era buildings directly opposite

Getting there

Ways to reach Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, compared
HowFromTakesCosts
Walkthe Waterfront——over the Darul Hana Bridge
Boatthe Waterfront (penambang sampan)——

It stands in Petra Jaya on the north bank. Walk over the Darul Hana Bridge from the Waterfront, or take a penambang sampan across. Most visitors photograph it from the south bank rather than visiting it.

Good to know

  • A working legislature — public access to the chamber is restricted
  • The exterior and grounds are the visit for almost everyone
  • Pairs with the bridge and the Astana in one riverside walk

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