SANDAKAN – Sabah opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has urged to restructure the Sabah Water Department to ensure that allocations from the federal government are properly used.
He stressed that Sabah’s water and electricity supply problems are critical and worrying, given the series of disruptions this month, believed to be due to insufficient supply, resulting in power and water rationing in most parts of Sabah.
He said while he welcomes Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to channel funds into solving Sabah’s water supply problem, he is concerned that history will repeat itself and the allocation will go to waste through leakages within the Water Department’s administrative management.
“The issue that we are facing now stems from years of leakages in the management of the government’s administration, and allocations have not been channelled to places they were meant to be.
“What is happening in Sabah worries me so much. It is all over the state, not only in the rural areas, but also in the urban parts and in villages. The water supply problem is not only happening in Sandakan, but a lot of places in Sabah are still without water supply.
“Why is this still happening to Sabah when we have an abundance of water sources like rivers and rain? This problem must be addressed as soon as possible,” he said.
The Semporna MP said this when met by reporters after he attended the Sandakan Warisan Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house event at the Yu Yuan Secondary School hall last night.
He said both the federal and Sabah governments must look into the administration of the Sabah Water Department seriously, and it must be a priority as it involves a basic public necessity.
Shafie also said he told Anwar not to have the federal government take over the Sabah Water Department.
“We have seen how Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd, which was taken over by Tenaga Nasional Bhd for 30 years, not only failed to provide stable electricity supply in Sabah, but also ended up with RM1 billion in debt.
“We have resources for electricity and water supply. The problem is leakages in the administration management. It must be restructured,” he reiterated. –The Vibes, May 19, 2023
