SANDAKAN – Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor is setting up a team of professionals and experts to study the salty water supply problem in Sandakan.
Karamunting assemblyman George Hiew said that he met with Hajiji this morning to highlight the problem, and Hajiji has taken immediate action to look into the issue.
“I believe that a comprehensive approach is needed to solve the salty water supply problem that has been going on for three months, as well as the longstanding water disruption problem faced in the district,” he said in a statement today.
Hiew, who recently left Warisan for Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah last Saturday, said bringing Sandakan’s water problem to the attention of the chief minister was his first task after joining the Sabah government.
“He (Hajiji) gave his assurance he would solve this problem as soon as possible,” he said.
On February 8, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya visited the Segaliud water treatment plant and said the problem was partly due to damage to a river gate by irresponsible fishermen who crossed the prohibited area.
He said the problem will be solved once the parts needed to repair the river gate arrive in Sandakan later this month.
Meanwhile, Warisan’s Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong today said that he is seeking 10,000 people to sign the petition to demand the resignation of Sabah Water Department director Baharuhom K.K. Sogon over his alleged failure to solve Sandakan’s water supply woes.
This came after some 30 residents gathered in front of the department’s office to submit a memorandum, demanding an explanation and solution from the department last Saturday, but have yet to receive a response to date.
DAP’s Sandakan MP Vivian Wong had also called for Baharuhom to be sacked from his post, saying that the salty water supply and frequent water disruptions for some 500,000 residents in the district were unacceptable. –The Vibes, March 6, 2023
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