SANDAKAN – Sekong assemblyman Alias Sani has called on the government to vacate 100 families that have been living in abject conditions in container homes for over three years, and move them to empty People’s Housing Project (PPR) units here as a temporary solution.
The Warisan rep said this is to ensure that the construction of six bridges in Kg Gas begins and is completed, and is also an urgent step as the Sandakan health office has declared that the living conditions in the container homes are unsafe and unhygienic.
“After consistently urging the Sandakan Municipal Council (SMC) to explain why the construction of the bridges has yet to start, but receiving no response, as the people’s representative, I am going to push for them to be moved to empty PPR units for the time being.
“My office has done inspection on PPRs in Sandakan and found that two of them – PPR Taman Harmoni and PPR Batu Sapi – still have empty units. I will push for them to be relocated as soon as possible,” he told The Vibes after meeting villagers yesterday.
The families have been living in container homes, dubbed Kg Container, after their houses on a 0.8ha plot of land in Kg Gas here were destroyed in a fire in July 2018.
Over 90 houses in the Kg Gas water village were razed, including the bridges connecting the houses to land.
In March, The Vibes reported the plea of the villagers for the construction of six bridges promised to them during last year’s Sabah polls campaign so that they can rebuild their houses.
Their poor living conditions were detailed in another report last year. The villagers have to live with water leaking into their homes when it rains, and large families squeeze into one small container, using the same space to cook and sleep.
“The container homes were actually meant to be a temporary relief centre following frequent fire incidents in the Batu Sapi area in 2018,” said Alias.
“The Kg Gas fire victims were the first ones to be relocated here; it was supposed to be temporary.”
He said he met SMC deputy president Faridah Giau last November to ask about the progress of the bridge project, and that he was told the tender would be opened in two weeks.
“But after two weeks, months, until now, the tender has yet to be opened, that we know of. We are quite confident that the allocation is already in the hands of SMC, but we are unsure of the amount. It is either RM1.2 million or RM1.6 million.
“In June, I issued another letter to SMC seeking a written explanation on the delay of the project, but I have yet to receive a response.”
Last month, the Sandakan health office responded to Alias’ request for a health inspection of the area, and the office declared that the living conditions of Kg Container residents as posing a risk of spreading infectious diseases, including dengue and Covid-19.
“This is why I urge the state government to quickly relocate them to the empty PPR units,” said Alias.
However, SMC, in response to the PPR issue, replied that the available units at Taman Harmoni are meant for Eastern Sabah Security Command personnel, and the units are suffering damage that requires funds and time to be fixed.
“SMC also said it will look into the availability of the Batu Sapi PPR, and asked for me to prepare a list of names of the fire victims living in Kg Container,” added Alias.
He said he will send the list to SMC soonest, and hopes for the families to be relocated as soon as possible. – The Vibes, September 12, 2021
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