Eight Kota Belud villages benefit from water project
Published on: Thursday, April 28, 2016
Kota Belud: Some 450 households in eight villages in the district here are benefiting from the Earthquake Disaster Relief-Water Mitigation project completed in March this year after months of disruption to their normal water supply.The villages are Kg Gaur, Kg Koung Malaan, Kg Tambatuon, Kg Tambulion Ulu, Kg Tudan, Kg Lahanas, Kg Nahaba Sokid and Kg Pirasan Kelepian.It is a collaborative effort by the Rotary Club of KK South (RCKKS) and the Australian High Commission which contributed RM100,000 while Sunway Group came up with a contribution of RM14,000.ADVERTISEMENT Implementation of the project involved installing a new gravity feed water system at Kg Pirasan Kelepian, Kg Koung Malaan, Kg Gaur and Kg Tudan; upgrading the gravity feed water system at Kg Lahanas and Kg Tambatuon, installing a new well at Kg Tambulion Ulu and upgrading the existing well at Kg Nahaba Sokid.On Monday, Deputy High Commissioner of Australia to Malaysia, Dr Angela MacDonald PSM and Rotary International District 3310 Governor Nominee, Datuk Lee Chuen Wan jointly officiated at the handover ceremony at Kg Gaur.Also present were Consul of Australia in Kota Kinabalu, Datuk Andrew Sim, current President of RCKSS, Leslie Yap Kian Vui (2015-2016), Immediate Past President of RCKKS, Tan See Ang (2014-2015) and Past Presidents, Eddy Chung, Dr S. Ganesh and Victor Chong, as well as village community leaders.Following the 6.0-magnitude earthquake which struck Ranau and surrounding areas, massive mudslides occurred and impacted the environment as far as Kota Belud, according to Leslie.ADVERTISEMENT Months after the earthquake, rivers were heavily silted with mud every time it rained, making the river-water unfit for consumption. Leslie said the club sprang into action when they learned that Kota Belud's sources of water supply were disrupted as a result of damaged gravity water mainline pipes and wells."We set up a Water Relief Committee (WRC) to help identify deserving villages which need help to restore damaged pipes and storage facilities," he said, adding that the committee was responsible for overseeing the project.
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In his address, Leslie paid tribute to the Australian High Commission and Sunway Group, regarded as partner organisations, for their generous donations towards making the project a reality."Their gesture is in recognition of the basic human need for accessibility to water resources. With this new amenity in place, the people in the respective eight villages are now able to enjoy regular water supply to their homes," he said.At this juncture, he made a vote of special thanks to local volunteers for their selflessness in coordinating communication between RCKKS and the eight villages, and to the villagers for sacrificing their time to ensure completion of the project in the spirit of gotong royong (or communal help).Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Among the volunteers were Zyaliah @ Maya Ramdan (Area Commissioner of Scouts, Kota Belud), Aznan Johan (Assistant District Commissioner of Scouts Usukan – Rovers) and Esther Toihin (Assistant District Commissioner of Scouts Usukan – Administration)."The gotong royong teams provided the manpower to lay the poly water pipes and install water tanks," Leslie added.