KUCHING: The water supply problem plaguing the state’s rural areas, particularly in the identified critical and stressed areas, will most likely be a thing of the past by end next year.
According to Water Supply Assistant Minister Datuk Liwan Lagang, the Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB), which has been entrusted with the task, was “working day and night” to put an end to the persistent water supply woes.
He therefore called on the people including some of the elected representatives who had been rather critical of the issue against JBALB to be more understanding on the many challenges faced by JBALB in executing their duties to address the problems at hand.
Liwan said JBALB while working on the Projek Rakyat, which is a long-term solution under the Sarawak Water Supply Grid Programme, was also implementing many short-term interventions especially in critical areas that required urgent attention.
“I myself used to be critical of the water supply issues in my own kawasan. But since I came to the ministry, I now understand the problems and the many challenges faced by the department as well as what they do to address them.
“I therefore appeal to the people in the affected areas, including some of our elected representatives to bear with JBALB the inconvenience pending the completion of the Projek Rakyat,” he told reporters in an interview on Friday night.
Liwan said water issues were essentially under the purview of the federal government but seeing the need to urgently address the problems, the state government under the present Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg had decided to intervene.
This was also because the existing federal government had cancelled many projects that had been approved to resolve the water issues by the previous federal government, he added.
The state government has approved a whopping RM2.8 billion out of the state coffers for the project. The allocation is for a period of two years until the end of 2020.
However, Liwan said based on further studies carried out by JBALB, the current allocation might not be able to resolve the water woes in total due to many new challenges cropping up.
Among them included many of the existing facilities such as aging treatment plants and piping system that needed replacements, while some required upgrading due to increasing demand for water, he added.
In view of this, he said the state government had engaged a local-based consultant to conduct a further study into the problem.
Liwan praised Abang Johari for understanding the people’s plights and needs and also for his concern and farsightedness in resolving the water supply woes.
He said what the Chief Minister did was actually beyond just providing solution but also to revolutionise the water sector in the state.
Accompanying Liwan at the press interview were JBALB director Chang Kuet Shin, JBALB Betong divisional engineer Tay Chiaw Teck and Jennyvee Jenai from the department’s Corporate Communication Unit.
