KOTA KINABALU – Residents in Sugud, near Penampang, continue to reel from the aftermath of devastating mud floods 26 days after they occurred.
Most villagers in the affected areas continue to conduct general cleaning work, while several family heads have occupied themselves with restoring the gravity feed water pipes as well as clearing debris and logs that were swept downhill during a thunderstorm on the eve of Malaysia Day.
Jeremiah Luke, 11, told The Vibes that his grandfather continues to monitor cleaning work involving a clogged stream behind their home in Kg Kodou near here.
“All the logs, debris, and household refuse were starting to clog the stream behind my grandfather’s house. Before the stream potentially turns into an unnatural dam, we need to clear it,” he said when met at their home.
Another resident, who only wished to be known as Omar, said 80% of cleaning at the village has been done, as some are still waiting for their furniture to fully dry.
“I’m not sure how much money has been spent on just cleaning and restoring the house.
“We have not been staying in the house since the floods. We have been staying at my sister’s house in Taman Kingfisher,” said Omar when met at his home in Kg Kodou.
Omar, who is married to a Penampang local and has been living in the Sugud area for over 10 years, said he has lost count of the amount of money spent on cleaning and repairs.
His car, he said, remains at the workshop as it was waterlogged from the mud floods over three weeks ago.
“I am grateful that there has been a lot of aid coming from various parties and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and that really eases our burden,” said the unemployed 40-year-old.
Omar said some of the residents who live further inside the village are still waiting for the power supply to be restored, adding that they have been living without electricity since September 15.
“At this point, some of the villagers are managing by receiving a supply of treated water from the state Water Department and we had our electricity restored about a week after the floods. But others living further in the interior continue to rely on gravity feed water from the water source uphill,” he said.
According to him, the small village road leading further into Kg Kodou – previously blocked by logs and debris – has also been cleared by the authorities, with residents having already returned home.
Despite the clearing exercise conducted by the authorities and villagers alike, logs and debris remain along the road as villagers contemplate a lawsuit against parties responsible for the land clearing uphill at Ulu Sugud.
During a recent village meeting, Sugud villagers claimed that land clearing uphill to kick-start cash crop cultivation had caused the mud floods, subsequently causing property damage.
“We had a meeting about a week ago along with government officials, and if it is found that the party responsible did not adhere to environmental SOPs (standard operating procedures), we will bring them to court,” a Sugud resident told The Vibes on condition of anonymity.
The Vibes has learnt that the Sabah Rubber Industry Board (SRIB) opened a rubber estate in the hilly areas of Sugud.
The land clearing was first noted about five years ago when villagers who relied on gravity feed water sources found their natural water source becoming murky and polluted.
However, a check with SRIB revealed that the opening of a rubber estate involving Penampang villagers’ lands had followed environmental guidelines.
The state-owned agency shared its data with The Vibes – whereby it had developed 2,323.59ha of land among the hilly areas of Penampang, involving 639 local farmers.
SRIB noted that the closest rubber plantation to the flood-affected river was their project in Kg Kaanapan involving 47.12ha of land and 15 villages, which it said complies with environmental guidelines.
Kg Kaanapan is located further into Sugud, beyond Kg Kodou, located in a valley.
The opening of the estate was done in 2015, around the same time many Sugud residents found their gravity feed water becoming polluted.
The Vibes also reached out to the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry over the flooding, and sources from the ministry’s Environment Protection Department noted that there are no environmental impact assessment reports over the project.
In response, the agency will be releasing a report over the cause of the flooding in Sugud soon, adding that it had already launched a probe into the incident last week. – The Vibes, October 12, 2021
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