By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Nov 7: Dudong assemblyman Dato Sri Tiong King Sing holds that delays in producing hydraulic reports for the Rajang and the Igan Rivers will result in inaccuracy of data collected, as sediment accumulation in rivers changes over time.
He said this in a statement following a meeting on the progress of the flood mitigation project for Sibu, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Water Transformation Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof.
During the meeting, both he and Fadillah were briefed by the Federal Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and its Sibu branch on the latest updates on the flood mitigation project.
There was a collective agreement on the need for river dredging to effectively reduce the frequency of flash floods in Sibu, so that the residents may finally be free from the constant threat of flooding.
“During the meeting, I reiterated that building more pumping stations is a non-starter towards solving the problem. The priority now is to complete the hydraulic survey report for the Rajang and Igan rivers as soon as possible to obtain accurate data. This will allow us to begin the river dredging works, restoring the rivers’ capacity to handle rainfall, which is essential in coping with sudden climate changes
“I find it difficult to understand why the hydraulic report is progressing so slowly. It’s important to recognise that if riverbed survey work takes too long, sediment accumulation in the riverbeds will change over time, rendering the collected data outdated,” said Tiong who is also Minister of Tourism, Arts and Cultures.
He expressed gratitude to Fadillah for recognising the urgency of completing the hydraulic reports swiftly and offering to assist in securing the RM26 million in funding needed to finalise the remaining survey work.
“Therefore, the relevant authorities are urged to submit a comprehensive project plan as soon as possible, with the goal of officially completing the hydraulic report by March 2025.”
Tiong also suggested expanding the riverbed survey team to allow multiple teams to conduct surveys simultaneously on different rivers to expedite the work progress.
“After all, Sibu has faced the problem of flash floods for many years, with residents enduring four to five floods each year. It’s truly disheartening for the people to read about government flood prevention measures in the news, only to see no alleviation of the flood issue.”
In addition, sedimentation problems in the Rajang and Igan Rivers are worsening, affecting also Bintangor and Sarikei, where stagnant waters are observed, with the river failing to flow smoothly towards Tanjung Manis.
“If dredging is not undertaken soon, future floods will only become more severe, potentially threatening lives,” said Tiong, who is Bintulu MP. — DayakDaily
