KOTA KINABALU: Increasing consumer demand and pipe leakages are among the reasons why Sabah continues to face water supply woes, says Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the issue has been around for many previous state administrations, and it was not something that could be solved overnight.
The state Works Minister said this in a statement on Thursday (April 21) in response to a social media remark by Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe.
The DAP lawmaker claimed in a Facebook post that the state’s public amenities are worsening instead of improving by the day, citing a power outage in a hospital earlier this week and water disruption in an industrial park.
“The people are fed up with these basic issues. However, our ministers are now talking about #Casinos and #SkyTrains,” Phoong wrote in his post.
He claimed that the leaders chose to “sweep everything” under the rug when they cannot resolve basic utility issues.
Bung Moktar said while the state government and state Water Department are aware of supply disruptions, Phoong should know better as DAP was also in the state government during Warisan’s time, but still failed to fix the problem.
“The issue of leakage on main pipes built since the British Colonial era which have not been replaced, as well as illegal pipe connections around Kota Kinabalu, are also contributing to the supply disruption.
“It does not mean that the state government is not doing anything – in the short term, we are rationing and distributing clean water supply at critical areas.
“For the long term, we have proposed a Sabah Water Services Commission as one of the initiatives under Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya, as well as the proposal of water supply privatisation.
“We will do what is needed to handle water woes but it is not like we can plan today and execute it tomorrow. This is not like the tale of Aladdin’s magic lamp,” he added.
Bung Moktar also said water treatment plants are not able to function properly due to inconsistent supply from rivers, as well as pollution.