Liew questions delay in KB flood mitigation projects
Published on: Friday, December 15, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah Chairman Christina Liew has questioned what happened to the funds meant for dredging of rivers in Kota Belud, as part of the flood mitigation projects for the district. She said this when commenting on the severe floods that hit the district on Monday following incessant rain, causing several rivers to overflow. "How many more devastating floods do the people of Kota Belud have to endure before the funds are actually made available for the much-publicised flood mitigation projects? Or was it just another 'lip service' to pacify the flood victims in Kota Belud?
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"Just last month we were informed by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin during the State Assembly sitting that the State Government has approved a special project of dredging, as well as sand and rock extraction, in rivers to overcome the perennial flooding problem in Kota Belud," said Liew. She said according to official statistics, 26 villages in the district were flooded with 1,829 people from 758 families affected. Liew said Yahya, who is also Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, also said RM50 million had also been approved for the Sungai Kedamaian mitigation project under the Rolling Plan 2 (RP2), currently under the Value Review (VA) stage, and a RM20 million project for the Sg Gurong-gurong flood mitigation plan. She also demanded to know the actual status of the RM4.6 million Sg Abai Estuary dredging project to accelerate the flow of upstream water to the sea which, according to Yahya, is being implemented.
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Liew also questioned the effectiveness of the various small-scale rehabilitation works to reduce flood risks in Kota Belud which cost the Sstate Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) almost RM9 million to implement over the past two years. "Maybe the National Audit Department should seriously look into this matter to ascertain if the taxpayers' money was properly spent," she said during a press conference by NGO Kota Kinabalu Society of Hope at her office in Karamunsing, Thursday.
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Liew, who is also Api-Api Assemblywoman, went on to say that it was shameful and unacceptable that despite being listed as one of the four "rice bowls" in the country, Kota Belud continued to be plagued by incidents of severe floods every time there was a heavy downpour. "Only two months ago, we were told by Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman that more than 2,000 paddy farmers were affected by floods which hit the district. This certainly does not augur well for Kota Belud as one of the four 'rice bowls' in the country," she said. Tajuddin also said the Federal Government was committed to developing the Kota Belud paddy industry with a RM360 million allocation under the 11th Malaysia Plan. Official record shows there are 8,500 hectares of paddy in Kota Belud, with 3,900 farmers.Liew, thus, called on both the Federal and the State governments to stop the rhetoric and to expedite the release of the much-needed funds for the implementation of the flood mitigation projects identified earlier. "There should be no problem for the Federal Government to disburse the allocated funds meant for the flood mitigation projects without any further delay since the Government's revenue collection has been significantly boosted with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1, 2015. She also urged both Minister in the Prime Minister's Department cum Kota Belud MP Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak, who hail from Kota Belud, to seek emergency funds to assist the flood victims and expedite long-overdue and much-needed flood mitigation measures. Liew also questioned why the State BN leaders did not visit the Kota Belud flood victims. "Even the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng went on the ground to visit flood victims in Penang day and night during the floods there," she said."Today, together with the Kota Kinabalu Society of Hope, an NGO, we have donated RM10,000 to Sabah PKR Deputy Chairman cum PKR Kota Belud Divisional Chairman Mustapha Sakmud, who is acting on behalf of the flood victims, to buy three sampans so the victims can use it to access in and out of their flood affected areas. "Another two more sampans will be added soon and the balance of the funds will be to purchase basic food items for the victims. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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