KOTA SAMARAHAN: A total of 34 water tanks were handed over by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) to Sekolah Kebangsaan Menengah (SMK) Ulu Balingian in Sibu last Friday.
According to a statement today, SMK Ulu Balingian had no clean water supply since 2015, relying only on rivers and rain as water sources.
“This problem is getting worse as the water pump is getting worn and the cleanliness of Sungai Balingian is affected by the development in the area,” it added.
Four lecturers and 10 medical students from Unimas, and an officer from the Selangau Health Office participated in this event.
At the programme, Pusat Kelestarian Komuniti (PPK) director, who is a lecturer at the university’s Faculty of Engineering, also presented a project called mini-water treatment plant to assist the school’s clean water supply problem.
According to SMK Ulu Balingian principal Irie Ambau, the school needs at least eight barrels of clean water daily to accommodate 713 residents of the school.
He hoped the ministry could give immediate attention to the serious water problem in his school.
“Apart from that, this school is also experiencing a very weak telecommunications coverage problem,” he said, adding he hoped Unimas’s mini-water treatment plant project would overcome water problems in the school.
Meanwhile, Unimas PKK director and the project head Noraziah Wahab said the project is using ultrafiltration technology.
“The system does not use chemicals because it operates using solar energy. The project has also been approved by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and will be implemented soon.
“It is expected to be completed by end of September this year,” she explained.
At the same event, Unimas also announced SMK Ulu Balingian as its foster school and would help the school in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) aspect.
The handover of the water tanks was officiated by MoE secretary-general Datuk Dr Gazali Mohd Abas.
Also present were state Education Department deputy director Abang Mat Ali Abang Masagus, Unimas Global director Azlan Ramli, and Unimas Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences deputy dean Prof Dr Kamaruddin Kana.
