MIRI – A social activist has blasted state government leaders for “doing absolutely nothing” to mitigate the flood woes that have once again hit Ulu Baram in the interior of northern Sarawak over the past 24 hours.
The settlements in Long Lellang are under more than a metre of flood water following incessant rain since yesterday, Baram tour leader-cum-social activist Willie Kajan said today.
“We the villagers in Ulu Baram have lost count of how many times we have been hit by floods already this year,” he said.
“Every time it rains for several hours, the rivers overflow and flood waters overwhelm the adjacent settlements.
“The latest floods in Long Lellang started since yesterday,” he said, taking reps under the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to task over their lack of action to alleviate the suffering.
“The GPS state election candidates pledged during the polls in December last year that the state government would take urgent steps to deal with the floods,” he said to The Vibes.
“What have they done so far? Looks like absolutely nothing.”
Kajan said that the state government must, for a start, issue stop-work orders against all logging extraction activities near river tributaries in Baram.
He stressed such activities result in the clearing of forest and soil cover at an alarming rate.
“That is why flash floods will happen even with just a few hours of rain,” Kajan said.
State assemblymen and MPs must bear responsibility for the suffering experienced by the inundated villagers, he added.
“Every flood will see crops like padi and vegetables swept away and destroyed. Then the food supplies will dwindle.
Kajan said GPS reps must explain the measures they had taken since the last election to find solutions to the flood woes.
He also said reps should send their party members and workers to repair the massive damage to homes and clear up the muddy mess caused by the floods.
Kajan, a native of the Mulu National Park in Baram district, said flood victims have always been left to sort out the headaches faced in the aftermath of floods.
He said people in longhouses like Long Lellang would have to put in great effort to clear the tonnes of muddy debris that has piled up inside their homes.
“The floods always brought mud, timber debris and rubbish into our compounds,” he said. “We the villagers have to clear these big volumes of mess and then have to repair those parts of our wooden homes damaged and broken by the floodwater.
Only two months ago, entire longhouses were covered in thick layers of mud following floods, and residents had to use shovels to dig up and clear the mess.
Community elder Peter Kallang had told The Vibes that the flood woes are a frequent occurrence. “Every time it rains heavily, floods will overwhelmed us,” he said.
Sarawak has been experiencing torrential rain over the past week or so. – The Vibes, May 10, 2022
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