End Sipitang water woe for good, dept told
Published on: Wednesday, November 20, 2019
By: Larry Ralon
KOTA KINABALU: The State Government was urged to give priority and use some of the huge allocation provided for infrastructure development next year to resolve once and for al the clean water supply problem that has been plaguing the people in the State, including in Sipitang parliamentary which covers the Lumadan and Sindumin state constituencies.
Lumadan Assemblyman, Matbali Haji Musah said the people greatly welcomed the State Government’s determination to provide huge allocation of RM1,571.51 million next year for infrastructure development and public amenities.
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The amount includes RM929.44 million for the Infrastructure Development Ministry and departments as well as agencies under it and another RM530.70 million for the Finance Ministry.
“With such a huge allocation, the people hopes that problems like clean water supply can be resolved totally, including in Sipitang.
“The clean water supply problem has persisted without solution since long time ago. Everyday there would be villages in both state constituencies, Lumadan in Beaufort and Sindumin in Sipitang which do not receive clean water supply. There are also villages who do not receive water supply up to a week,” he said when debating the 2020 State Budget at the State Legislative Assembly, here, Tuesday.
He said people in both constituencies are getting angrier lately because of frequent water supply cuts and also disruption due to the ongoing Pan Borneo Highway construction by the Government-appointed contractor.
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“The contractor’s workers not only frequently causes water pipeline to burst, but also not repair it for several days.
“This is not only causing the Water Department to sustain losses, but also to the villagers who are victimised when there is no water supply reaching their homes for several days...and the Assemblyman become the target of villagers to express their unhappiness and suffering because there was no water.
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“The water supply problems in Beaufort, Sipitang and Sindumin not only affected villages, but also the town areas, where there are schools, apart from business premises which sustained losses as they have to stop operations,” he said.
Matbali requested the State Government, particularly the Infrastructure Development Ministry, to give priority in the 2020 State Budget, for finding a solution to the water issue affecting Beaufort and Sipitang.
He said initiative should be taken to provide water storage tanks to villagers especially in Kg Suasa, Kg Lago, Kg Padas Damit,
Bintuka, Bangkalalak and Mentulud in Lumadan.
“The Water Department must give notice of water disruption and not three or four days later.
“Apart from that, the department must also ensure the quality of water because people are paying for it.
Matbali, while thanking the government for constructing the Pan Borneo Highway, highlighted the package involving the highway from Sindumin to Beaufort which is being constructed side-by-side with the existing old Beaufort-Sindumin road.
“The old Beaufort-Sindumin road which was previously in perfect condition is now filled with large potholes and muddy spots, making it hard to drive, especially when it rains.
“This road is being used by lorries and heavy machineries of the Pan Borneo contractor concerned, making the road condition worst.
“The Beaufort-Sindumin road is presently left in such condition without any maintenance, which led to many road accidents. There were cases of vehicles breaking down, apart from burst tyres after hitting the large potholes along the 45km road.
“On Nov 3, the damaged road claimed the life of a young man who crashed at Km 25 of the Beaufort-Sipitang road at Kg Lingkungan,” he said.
Apart from that, there are also homes close to the road which are now experiencing flood whenever it rains as the drains are clogged with dirt from the construction works.
“The villagers have approached the contractor to clear the clogged drains but they were ignored, sparking anger among the affected people,” he said, adding that among the affected villages are Kg Sri Menanti, Kg Bahagia, Kg Kawang Skim and the Sindumin R&R.
Matbali also urged the Infrastructure Development Minister and Public Work Department Director to go down to look for themselves the condition of the road which needed immediate attention.
“The Pan Borneo Highway construction will take another three years to complete...must daily users of the Beaufort-Sindumin road endure such condition for such a long time?.
Matbali also welcomed and thanked the Government for Sarawak-Sabah Link Road (SSLR) project, saying that although the project may take some time to complete, it is considered good news as people in Long Pasia will also have asphalt road soon under this project.
Matbali also asked the Government to provide allocation for developing the tourism potential of Kg Weston, Kg Bintuka, Kg Keramis (Suasa) and Kg Gerama (Gadong).
Lumadan and Sindumin are synonym with tourism, like Bintuka in Lumadan which is previously famous as a tourism destination, because of the proboscis monkey and fireflies, as well as a haven for those who like fishing before the place die a natural death due to lack of promotional activities.
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