Temporary power supply solution?
Published on: Tuesday, July 04, 2017
Tawau: The question of whether the many large squatter settlements in the State should temporarily be supplied with electricity upon request pending decision on the status – for the sake of occupant safety in the event of a fire, besides helping prevent SESB losing some RM15 million yearly to power thefts – may have to be considered. This follows the incident in Kg Hidayat Laut, Mile 4, Jalan Apas on Saturday where a 3pm fire gutted 253 stilt homes and made nearly 2,000 homeless – all the houses there had been relying on power theft for as long as the settlement existed.Fire and Rescue Department evidence showed that the fire was caused by a short circuit following an overload in a vacant house.
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Many occupants in such settlements have requested legal power and water supply for hygiene in the past but were denied in order not to encourage the proliferation of squatter settlements. Yet, these settlements housing thousands have been allowed to expand by successive State Governments amid calls to either gazette or demolish them.Tawau Municipal Council President Alijus Sipil said the incident showed that residents were getting electricity through illegal connections. "This is serious because there are a lot of houses in the area but not a single house was legally supplied by SESB.
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"As for water supply, only 30 metres were registered officially but we cannot determine whether the metres are used by one house only or shared by others," he said.He said when firefighters arrived at the scene, about 30 houses were already in flames and the team also had to deal with narrow roads and cars parked by the roadside, apart from low water pressure.
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He said the status of the land is for Filipino refugee settlement under the supervision of the Sabah National Security Council. It covers 41 acres out of which 6.5 acres were affected by the fire. He said the registration by the Welfare Department from 9am to 6pm on Sunday recorded 1,960 victims including 30 per cent non-Malaysians with IMM13 documents. They comprise 162 family heads of Malaysians involving 1,141 people (605 men and 536 women) and 127 non-Malaysian family heads involving 819 people (405 men and 414 women). Alijus also insisted that they would not allow structures to be rebuilt on the fire site, in accordance with the government policy to reduce water village settlements due to security. "So far, we do not allow them to rebuild structures on the site unless there is a decision from the State Government based on application by leaders in the area for consideration," he said. He explained that even if there was permission to do so, the construction to be done systematically. Regarding the reconstruction of several affected bridges connecting mosques and religious schools in the area, the council has no objections to the decision made during the Disaster Management Committee meeting on Monday, he added. Meanwhile, the Disaster Management Committee decided to place all 1,960 victims at the Temporary Settlement Centre at Mile 2. Tawau Municipal Council President Alijus Sipil said the decision was made during a committee meeting chaired by him together with departments and agencies involved in the July 1 fire. He said Mile 2 was selected due to the fact that there are still empty tents which have not been used by the fire victims at Tanah Merah, Mile 2 Jalan Apas and Blok 10 Kg Titingan on April 13 last year. "The rationale for selection is also because the area has been provided with basic facilities such as toilets, cookers and electricity using generator sets. "We will also try to supply enough tents for them over a three month period in accordance to the Standard Operating Procedure to provide them with shelter," he told a media conference at his office here on Monday. Regarding the settlement centre at Mile 2 which is quite far from the scene of the fire, Alijus said they are ready to consider the evacuation of victims if there are sites in Mile 4 or surrounding areas that are suitable as temporary shelters. "If the site at Mile 4 can be made into a temporary settlement centre, we will consider and will provide related facilities," he said. During the meeting, he said, they also decided that the location for the collection and distribution donation centres has been decided to be placed at the Kg. Hidayat village head's house. This was decided as the multipurpose hall at the village could not be used because it has been reserved for wedding and Hari Raya celebrations until July 11. Alijust said at the moment, numerous donations have already been channelled by leaders in the area as well as concerned community and government departments as well as agencies including the armed forces assigned to food preparation. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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