Kota Kinabalu: Upko Vice President Datuk Wences Angang on Friday called on the authorities to improve electricity and water supply in Kuala Penyu which have dogged the district since 2000.He was reacting to power disruptions during the second the of Chinese New Year in the district.
"I call upon the authorities concerned to act fast and improve power and water supply in the Kuala Penyu area.
"The perennial problem of power disruptions has been going on for several years now.
"This problem persisted even when I was in the Ministry of Infrastructure between 2001-2004 and it has now become an every day occurrence especially in the past several years," he said in a statement.
He said it is already bad enough to experience power disruptions on normal days but to suffer it during festivities is very unpleasant.
The frequent blackouts, he said, are also putting many businesses in jeopardy.
"But experiencing power disruptions for the whole day especially during festivities such as what we went through during the recent Chinese New Year celebration is indeed the worst we have had to put up with," he said.
He said water supply disruption is also another perennial problem that folk in Kuala Penyu are facing and that there is no solution in sight.
The people in the district, he said, are fed up with the situation.
According to Wences, if water were supplied to one village, the taps in the next village would be dry.
"This can't go on anymore. It is not my norm to bring up the issues publicly because certain people will construe this as politicising (the situation).
"But the two problems are of public interest and must be dealt with positively.
"We can't afford to let this problem drag on any longer as others will use this for their political tools to weaken the ruling government," he said.
The problems, at the end of the day, he said, would affect the credibility of Barisan Nasional (BN) and subsequently affect the voting pattern.
Hence, he said it is imperative that the agencies concerned improve power and water supply in Kuala Penyu quickly.
