style="text-transform: uppercase;">Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) National Supreme Council member Dr Roland Chia has called on the State government to resolve the water crisis in the rural and semi- rural areas that has reached critical point."Where has the RM1.5 billion water budget gone to? From 2014- 2016, the State government announced in their budget more than RM1.5 billion for the water works department to bring clean and treated water supply to the community.

"And yet many of our rural and semi-rural areas have yet to enjoy such essential and critical basic infrastructure.

(State Budget 2016- RM468 Million, 2015 – RM571 million, 2014- RM627)," he said in his statement here on Thursday.

Chia raised these questions while witnessing the transporting of water supply to Kg Kionsom and Kg Kiambalang, Inanam.

This was in response to appeals from villagers who had contacted his office for assistance.

He thanked friends and supporters who came forward to help in the transportation costs of sending the water to the villagers.

"So far the response of the government of the day was merely knee-jerk reaction i.e. sending water supply via water tankers to the villages in the rural areas of Inanam but the medium to long term measures in addressing this critical problem is yet to be seen.

"To add salt to injury, even the illegal immigrants staying in the Manggatal Immigration Temporary Detention Centre get treated piped water supply whilst the nearby villages of Kg Sinompuru, Menggatal still rely on water gravity projects.

"The question is why the State government is dragging its feet in supplying treated piped water to the interior and semi-rural areas of Sabah including Inanam, Manggatal and Telipok?," he said. Chia said the Infrastructure Development Minister has a lot of explanation to do to the people of Sabah.