KUCHING, Oct 6: Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has clarified that his recent statement on Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) is not a personal attack but rather, an expression of a fact that flash flooding in Bintulu is an issue which needs to be dealt with urgently.
He stressed that it is his duty as an MP to point out the failure of public projects and the lack of maintenance of some amenities as these are the grouses of the people.
“A reading of my previous statement about the BDA will make clear that there was no personal attack of any sort on (BDA general manager) Rodziah (Morshidi), or any other individual.
“There is no cause for me to launch a personal attack on Rodziah’s character. In all my years in politics, I have made no personal attacks on anyone, only their work performance affecting my constituents.
“On the contrary, my duty as a Member of Parliament to point out the failures and shortcomings of public figures in authority positions such as Rodziah is to resolve urgent matters affecting the people. These are based on my constituents’ reviews and complaints on BDA’s performance on bare facts and nothing else,” according to Tiong in a statement yesterday.
Tiong was responding to a post uploaded on Rodziah’s social media page stating “Of all ways to negotiate, why resort to personal attack?”. Rodziah was referring to Tiong’s statement on Oct 1 where he criticised BDA’s management as urgently needing a total overhaul to provide quality services to the residents Bintulu.
Tiong in his Oct 1 statement had also asserted that Rodziah should be replaced so that the agency could cope with the fast pace development that is taking place in Bintulu.
Meanwhile, according to Tiong in his statement yesterday, Rodziah should take his earlier statement in good faith and review BDA’s performance.
“Let us be clear: as Bintulu MP, it is my responsibility to point out any shortcomings or flaws that compromise the quality of life for Bintulu people.
“The fact is violations of construction regulations such as the blocked drainage have been reported numerous times before. Despite previous complaints, the answer we receive is always ‘we will look into it’. Then the violations continue and rules continue to be floated (sic). What should not happen, keeps happening.”
He further questioned Rodziah’s attendance for Bintulu Development Committee meetings as well as how many issues brought up in these meetings have been resolved by BDA.
“In March this year, at a dialogue with the Sebauh community in Bintulu, 270 community leaders and representatives traveled long distances to talk about their areas’ infrastructure and development issues.
“Rodziah did not even bother to attend and merely sent representatives to the meeting. Of ‘many ways to negotiate’, it seems that dialogues such as these are not good enough for her.”
He asserted that the flood mitigation system in Bintulu is still substandard and in dire need of upgrades and repairs. Unless this is tackled, the public would continue to face flash floods and blocked drainage, he opined.
“We should hold a large scale town hall meeting between Rodziah and the public. Probably then, she would listen to their issues,” he suggested.
Tiong added, flood problems in Bintulu are very real especially near construction sites.
“I have personally led groups of people to attempt to contact BDA on various issues including flood mitigation systems. These problems are not confined to the recent flood flash (sic) affecting the drainage near the Boulevard Bintulu. This is true of most construction sites.
“But the BDA seems to have reached a level of numbness and become desensitised to these infringement of building regulations and safety measures.” — DayakDaily
