By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Nov 23: Low water pressure is forcing some residents of Sibu Jaya to carry water as high as the fourth floor while others are forced to put more stress on their monthly expenses by installing electric pumps.
In pointing this out, Dudong assemblyman Dato Sri Tiong King Sing (GPS-PDP) expressed gratitude to Utility and Telecommunication Minister Datuk Julaihi Narawi who had in 2022, improved water supply in Sibu Jaya.
“But unfortunately, it is not enough. There are still flats where every evening they need to carry the water from the ground floor to the fourth floor for the children to shower, to do their cooking.
“When showering, they need to ration and use just half the pail. Isn’t all this very frustrating?
“Some of them are even forced to save money to install electric pumps to bring water from the ground floor to the top floor. And this also adds on the additional electricity cost for the residents. How can we not understand the unhappiness and unsatisfaction here?” said Tiong when debating Sarawak Budget 2024 at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting at DUN Complex here today.
He said the constituents of Dudong found the water supply situation at Sibu Jaya “unacceptable” as they have been experiencing low water pressure for years, especially during peak periods when all residents are at home.
Tiong who is also federal Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister thus appealled to Julaihi to look into revamping the water supply system for Sibu, including Sibu Jaya.
“I have had a few meetings with the Sibu Water Board where they have shown me the system. I may not have the full knowledge, but according to my experience, the design which is based on older designs has a lot of shortcomings; even some of the officers have admitted this to me,” said Tiong.
He said should the issue persist, the constituents of Dudong may accuse the government of being uncaring towards the low income group by saying ‘kerajaan hanya pilih kasih saja, orang kaya punya tempat semua kita jaga, tapi orang miskin punya kawasan kita tidak ambil tahu‘ (The government is unfair, it takes care of the area of the rich and ignores the area of the poor). — DayakDaily
