MIRI – Flood victims receiving shelter at the Bintulu Indoor Stadium, which was being used as an evacuation centre, were removed from the premises at short notice by the authorities as it has been scheduled for use as a nomination centre during the upcoming general election.
Victims were relocated to another place as the stadium needed to be prepared and set up to receive candidate aspirants applying to run for the Bintulu parliamentary seat during nomination day on Saturday.
The affected residents, whose squatter colonies Kg Baru and Kg Sibiew were severely hit by floods, were relocated to Stadium Muhibbah outside Bintulu town.
At least eight residential estates in the Bintulu area have been heavily inundated with high water levels, as large swathes of northern Sarawak are battered by heavy rain and floods over the past week.
Kg Sibiew itself is about 1m deep in floodwaters.
Incumbent Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who is defending the seat, said he is calling for an emergency meeting of all government departments related to flood relief and rescue agencies.
“I am calling for the Bintulu Divisional Disaster Management Committee to get all the relevant agencies to attend an emergency meeting to discuss the floods that have affected at least six residential areas now.
“I want these agencies to send their heads to the meeting. Don’t send those junior officers as representatives,” he said in a statement.
“Send those who can make immediate decisions to deal with the floods.
“Do not take this meeting as a joke,” he stressed, adding that he wants it to be held urgently before Friday.
Tiong, who is president of the Progressive Democratic Party, is expected to be the candidate for the Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalition.
Meanwhile, the runway of the Lawas Airport in the namesake parliamentary constituency is still inundated by floodwaters and is closed for the second day.
All flights have been cancelled in Lawas, the northernmost district of Sarawak, located next to the state’s border with Sabah.
The airport allows flight links to Miri and Kota Kinabalu and enables planes to reach interior areas like Bario and Ba’kelalan. – The Vibes, November 2, 2022
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