LIKAS Assemblyman Tham Yun Fook said businesses in the city centre, particularly around Segama, Wisma Merdeka and Suria Sabah, have gone without water for more than a month, urging the Works and Utility Ministry to act swiftly.
“Small hotels, restaurants and dental clinics that rely on water cannot operate, yet salaries and rent still have to be paid,” he said, adding that larger organisations could afford to purchase water supplied by tankers, but smaller businesses could not.
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“I ask the Works and Utility Minister to come to the ground with me if what I am saying is doubted,” he said when debating the Supplementary Supply Bill 2026.
Tham said he understood that the Sabah Water Department had been working hard to trace the source of the disruption and that an additional RM848 million had been proposed on top of the more than RM200 million approved last year for the replacement of ageing pipes.
“If it is process after process, plan after plan, until when will this situation continue?” he said, asking for a clear timeline on when the replacement of ageing pipes would be fully completed.
He said the water shortage was also affecting tourists visiting the area.
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“Imagine how difficult it is for a tourist who goes to the toilet and there is no water to wash up,” he said.
Tham also called on the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry to develop tourism products showcasing local culture in the Likas constituency, including around Wisma Merdeka, ahead of Visit Sabah Year 2027.
“Many tourists come, but they only take photos of the Maybank building. That does not reflect our culture,” he said.
“I ask that the Ministry plan murals related to our culture and ethnic groups, so when tourists take photos, they bring home an image of Sabah, not Maybank,” he added.
Tham noted that the Ministry had been allocated RM174 million, with a further RM947,000 proposed under the supplementary budget, and urged that some of the funding be channelled towards developing tourism products in the area.
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