KUCHING, Nov 17: Wooden flood indicator poles have been installed along certain sections of the earthen drains at Stampin Resettlement Scheme (SRS) here as a temporary safety measure to prevent road users from accidentally driving into the drains during flooding.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) chief-cum-Kota Sentosa Branch chairman, Wilfred Yap, pointed out that residents of Lorong 14, 19, 22 and 33 have complained about the earthen drains in front of their houses being affected by flooding during high tide when combined with heavy rainfall.
“As a temporary safety measure, members from the SUPP Kota Sentosa branch have installed flood indicator wooden poles to outline the road boundary line to prevent road users from accidentally driving outside (sic) the road into the drain during flooding especially with the impending yearend wet and rainy season,” he revealed in a statement today.
As such, Yap hoped that Kota Sentosa assemblyman and Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen will assist the residents of Stampin Resettlement Scheme to apply for and secure development funding from the government for a long-term solution for the affected area’s flash flooding, drainage and stormwater management problems.
“There is an urgent need to address and resolve the problems of the dilapidated drainage situation at SRS which is a long outstanding problem for residents in the area,” he added.
On an unrelated matter, Yap also appealed to the federal government to consider providing additional financial assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in its Budget for 2021.
“Assistance can be through further wage subsidies for employees of SMEs and short term interest-free or low-interest loans to assist SMEs to go digital by adopting better technologies and also afford SMEs a window to recover from the current economic storm due to Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is because many SMEs are struggling to sustain their business operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Yap emphasised that financial assistance given to SMEs are in the interest of Malaysia for the long-term as SMEs form the backbone of Malaysia’s economy employing two-thirds of Malaysia’s total workforce, many of whom were in the B40 category, and contributed around 40 per cent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP).
SUPP PCB is always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone facing problems or who come across problems of public interest but does not know how to deal with it.
Anyone requiring assistance may call SUPP Public Complaint’s mobile number at 016-7797688 or 082-246999 or go directly to the SUPP Head Office here to request for assistance. — DayakDaily
