By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Oct 16: Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong declares that she stands by her statement over the substandard tar-sealed road specifications at Rantau Panjang in Batu Kawa, which was implemented under the People’s Project.
Yong was today called to give a statement at the Kuching District Police headquarters at Simpang Tiga here after political secretary to Chief Minister Tan Kai lodged a report on Oct 14 alleging that she had made baseless accusations against the road project costing RM3.3 million.
“I would like to point out that whatever I have said, I stand by it… it is true and that is what I have gathered from the ground,” she told reporters after providing her statement to the police.
Yong shared in her Facebook posts over the issue, she had posted photos to make comparison of the required engineering specifications between the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government and the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
“I received complaints from residents of Rantau Panjang requesting me to witness for myself that they were not happy about the thickness of the tar road which was only half an inch thick compared to PH standard which is four inches in thickness,” she explained.
She revealed that the project to upgrade the road covered some 33km in length which was connected to some 600 houses to the secondary or main road in the area.
This, she added, also raised another issue concerning affected residents or landlords as they were required to sign a permission letter to allow the implementation of the project to be undertaken on private land.
“In actual fact, under this letter, whether you (landlords) agree or not agree with the implementation of a project, you have no choice but to sign it (the letter),” she claimed and explained that their consent was needed when a project accessed private land.
Stressing on Clause 4 and 5 provided in the letter, Yong alleged that it also renounced any rights on the land of those affected including rights to complain about the project.
“That means you (landlords) have no rights including complaining rights if you think the thickness becomes half-inch. If you sign the letter, (and) based on this, you have lost the rights,” she added.
Expressing disappointment with the doing of Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) and its leaders, Yong stressed that there was nothing wrong for her to bring up an issue when people needed her help.
“I am the people’s elected representative. It is quite sad that when we try to raise the problem the people faced, instead of them going to fix the problem, they (Tan) went to lodge a report and ask the police to investigate.
“As a responsible government, the correct attitude should be to follow specifications in carrying out all projects, do it properly if you want to do it for the rakyat even if it is on a private land, please do it in accordance with engineering specifications,” she emphasised.
Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii and other DAP members were present. — DayakDaily
