Kota Kinabalu: The water crisis which is currently faced by the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students and staff is expected to end latest by next month, said UMS Board of Directors Chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan.
He said this when Minister of Higher Education Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr Zambry Abd Kadir asked him (Abdul Rahman) to explain to the UMS community during an engagement with them here, Tuesday, about water piping installation which is almost completed and would resolve the long-standing water supply in the university.
Zambry said Abdul Rahman together with the UMS Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor had addressed this water shortages in the university with the Sabah Water Department.
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');});Abdul Rahman said he acknowledged that the issue had been a major concern among the university community but he emphasised the need to move forward rather than dwell on the past.
“UMS is meant to produce graduates, not water. While the past can’t be changed, we are now focused on finding a solution.
“The main water supply to UMS and northern Kota Kinabalu currently comes from the Telibong Water Treatment Plant in Tuaran.
“Although a second Telibong plant in the area has been fully completed and is already operational, its treated water has yet to reach UMS due to an incomplete pipeline connection.
“This second plant is capable of supplying more than 80 million litres of water per day. But without the final pipeline connection, the treated water is just being released back into the river,” he said.
Abdul Rahman said this when attending a talk and dialogue with university and college students under ‘Programme in Person with Doc Zam’ led by the Higher Education Minister Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir at Chancellory Hall, UMS here on Tuesday.
According to him, the State Government already completed most of the pipeline works, with only the final two kilometres remaining before the water can reach UMS.
“We’ve received assurances (from the State Government) that this last stretch will be completed by the end of June, or by mid-July at the latest. If all goes according to plan, the water issue at UMS should be resolved soon after,” said Abdul Rahman who was a former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (in charge of Economic Planning Unit).
Abdul Rahman also addressed delays caused by the ongoing Pan Borneo Highway construction, noting that the same route is being used to lay the water pipes. “Contractors have reportedly requested to complete the road shoulders first to avoid disrupting the pipeline installation.
“We hope that once both the highway and the pipeline are completed, the university (UMS) will no longer face water shortages by July,” he said.
UMS has been grappling with recurring water disruptions for years, prompting widespread concerns among students and faculty over the impact on daily operations and living conditions on campus.
In light of this, Zambry told the university students in the event that the Madani Government Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had allocated RM3 million while he (Zambry) allocated RM2 million for UMS to implement short term solutions like providing tube wells as an effort to minimise the water woes in the university.
To resolve the water woes, he said the water supply must come from the State’s resources to ensure consistent supply.