YB: Explain Penampang flood mitigation plans

Penampang: MOYOG Assemblyman Terrence Siambun wants the authorities to tell the people about flood mitigation plans in the district."I refer to the box culvert installation works currently taking place in front of the junction to Kg Limbanak, Penampang which is actually part of the RM198 million Jalan Donggongon-Papar Spur dual carriageway upgrading project," he said.

He said he had been approached by several community and village leaders over the culverts which they deemed to totally unsuitable due to the nature of Limbanak River itself.

"I share their concerns and the Public Works Department (PWD) must instruct the appointed contractor to remove these box culverts immediately and construct a proper bridge instead.

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"On normal days, it may appear that the water level within the Limbanak River will not pose any problem at all for these culverts but during the rainy season, the river will become fully swollen due to water coming from upstream.

"As time passes, the long and narrow box culverts will be filled with sediments and as a result, debris and rubbish gushing through the Limbanak River during the rainy season will definitely get stuck in these culverts," he explained.

These blocked culverts, he said, will create a bottleneck and flash flooding will inevitably occur within the lower areas at Kampung Limbanak and Kituau, as what had happened at Kampung Sugud recently.

"In the case of Kampung Sugud, the bottleneck due to the box culverts installed at Penapah/Kondis road causes flash-flood in that village during the rainy season."

According to him, Penampang MP, Darell Leiking had also raised the issue relating to the installation of culverts at Kibabaig stream by a contractor during the reclamation works over a land by the roadside and as result, flash floods occurred several times at Jalan Minintod-Kibabaig at the exact spot where the culverts were installed.

However the closest answer obtained by him was the commitment by the Federal authorities in March 2014 on allocating RM41 million towards the Flood Mitigation plans for Penampang under the 10th Malaysia Plan (Rolling Plan) but which have yet to even commence to date, he said.

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Siambun also questioned if the State government was willing to bear the damages upon the villagers' houses, properties, crops and animals?

"The inference now is while it may be cheaper for the contractor to install the box culverts rather than to construct a proper bridge, the contractors or the authorities should not think about money making only while putting the lives of thousands of villagers in misery," he said.

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