Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji said the Public Works Department (PWD) must monitor, inspect and rectify damaged roads whether in urban areas or small towns regularly.
“Do not wait until an accident happens before scrambling to take action,” he said and expressed sadness on the recent tragedy where a road user (motorcyclist) lost his life due to a pothole in Lido.
Advertisement“While matters of life and death are determined by fate, responsibility for maintaining roads, no matter where they are lies with PWD, which should conduct frequent and thorough inspections on a scheduled basis.
“Do not wait until there is a complaint or an order before taking action! We live in an era where everything is at our fingertips. A small mistake will quickly go viral, with people blaming the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) Government and the Chief Minister.
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Hajiji said the same applies to issues such as water, electricity, illegal squatter and many other concerns affecting the people, which should be resolved efficiently, swiftly and decisively.
AdvertisementRegarding water supply, he reiterated that the problem was inherited from the previous administration, which failed to understand the complexities of water distribution and supply.
The Water Department underwent drastic restructuring, resulting in the transfer of experienced officers and the replacement of existing contractors.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“As a result, we now face intermittent water disruptions. In some places, there is water but salty. The root cause is inefficient water supply management worsened by rampant water theft, which has reached an extraordinary level, with up to 60 per cent of our clean water being lost due to theft.
“Sixty per cent of non-revenue water (NRW) is no small amount. More than half of our clean water is lost. It is the responsibility of the Water Department to identify where and how this loss is occurring.
“I have been informed that the 60pc NRW rate has now been reduced after identifying areas with illegal connections and disconnecting them. “But my question is, what guarantee is there that these illegal squatters will not reconnect their water supply?” he asked.
The Chief Minister said the relevant ministries and departments should act quickly to explain to the public the actual problems they are currently facing.
He cited the example of the Telibong 2 Water Treatment Plant upgrade, which has already been completed.
“However, water supply remains insufficient because the installation of new pipelines to channel water from the plant to Sepanggar and surrounding areas in Kota Kinabalu is still under construction and will only be completed by the end of this year.
For water supply to residents in Putatan, Jetama is currently constructing the Urgent Water Supply Scheme, a new plant with a capacity of 5 million litres per day (MLD).
This project is expected to be completed by May and will add 5 MLD specifically for the area.
“Additionally, the Kogopon 2 Water Treatment Plant in Papar, which is still under construction, is expected to be fully completed next year, increasing the supply of treated water to both Papar and Putatan.”
To ensure long-term consistent water supply, the State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, is building the Ulu Padas Hydroelectric Dam in Tenom, which is expected to be completed by 2029.
“This mega project will serve as a raw water supply source, particularly for several key districts in Sabah. Additionally, it will expand electricity distribution by linking the southern and southeastern regions of Sabah, thereby creating a more stable energy network,” he said.
