PUTATAN: Sabah Public Works Minister Datuk Ir Shahelmey Yahya expressed frustration over continued water supply disruptions in Putatan and city areas despite the new Kasigui Water Treatment Plant having begun producing treated water for both areas.
Shahelmey, who is also a Deputy Chief Minister, said the Kasigui plant has a capacity of five million litres per day, but is currently only producing three to four million litres.
“I’m personally quite disheartened. The new plant is already operational. I’m asking myself why the additional treated water still hasn’t reached users.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});“I instructed the State Water Department to investigate and they found the problem lay in the distribution network,” he told reporters after presenting awards to top 2024 STPM students, here, Friday.
He said the situation which has impacted residents as well as five-star hotels and shopping malls is being addressed in stages. It was learnt that one hotel in KK had to resort to providing bottled water for guests to bathe.
“I received a flood of complaints last Monday. The moment I turned on my phone in Kuala Lumpur, they came pouring in.
“I immediately contacted JANS (department), and they found the disruptions were due to technical issues, including burst pipes, trapped air in pipelines and limited pump capacity.”
Shahelmey said once Phase 2 of the Telibong 2 Water Treatment Plant project is completed, water can be channelled to the Inanam and Sepanggar areas.
“This will free up supply from the Moyog and Kasigui plants, which currently serve those areas, to be redirected to Kota Kinabalu and Putatan.
“As for the hotels, low pressure is due to their locations at the tail end of the distribution system. However, I was informed today that one hotel is satisfied with the current recovery plan.”
He said strict monitoring is ongoing, and the government has implemented short-term contingency plans, including deploying water tankers to areas with low pressure.
“The recovery plan is being refined to ensure more efficient water distribution. God willing, we aim to resolve this issue within the week,” he said.
When told that the water crisis is being exploited by the opposition ahead of the Sabah elections, Shahelmey urged for fairness.
“I’m confident that once the Telibong Phase 2 piping is fully installed, we will see a more stable water supply. Based on current projections, disruptions should be significantly reduced.”
He acknowledged several ongoing challenges, including ageing infrastructure and water thefts.
“I remain confident we’ll see a significant improvement by the end of this month.
“Constructive criticism is valid, but when people use AI-generated videos to smear the government, it damages not only the current administration’s image but also the reputation of Sabah.”
He the Government is working hard to address water issues which stemmed from legacy problems rather than the current administration’s failings.
“These are the result of delays in past water infrastructure projects. We’re now working to resolve them gradually,” he said.
Sabah courts have also yet to conclude the state’s longest and worst corruption scandal involving the State Water Department which is into its 18th year where an elaborate scheme involving then state ministers under Barisan Nasional and top department officials saw up to RM130 million meant for resolving water issues being pocketed.
