THE remaining funds to complete the necessary riverbed survey of the Rajang and Igan rivers should be immediately released, says Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (GPS-Dudong).
The Sarawak government has approved RM10mil this year to survey the two rivers, however, the relevant departments have only released RM2.8mil so far.
“This (survey) must be completed in order to obtain the required data to properly formulate the flood mitigation plan for the entire central region of Sarawak and improve the local flood mitigation systems.
“I have received many complaints that if the flash flooding in Sibu is not solved soon, many residents cannot hope to recover from flash floods when they occur, especially the crops that have been painstakingly farmed.
“In my constituency of Dudong, the people there are very much looking forward to the dredging of the river to finally solve and control the flooding issues.”
Tiong said this in debating the State Budget 2023 on the fourth day of the 19th Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) session on Thursday (Nov 24).
“Dudong is very fertile land, suitable for agricultural development.
“But the delays in solving the flooding problems mean that proper agriculture cannot be significantly developed, sacrificing so much potential income and business opportunities for the locals.”
As such, he said it was necessary for government agencies at all levels to undergo digital transformation in order to deliver government services and programmes more efficiently and transparently.
“It is clear that our government systems seem to be stagnant, on par with the conditions of the 1950s.
“There is always endless waiting for most people with regard to the implementation of many public use projects.
“This is also true for public services that should be expedited quickly,” he added, urging that such issues be looked into.
