Universiti Malaysia Sabah water woes: Government doing its best
Published on: Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Shahelmey, who is also state public works minister, also added that based on Sabah Water Department records for last month, the average volume of water supplied to UMS was around 2.7 million litres per day (MLD) but the varsity’s requirement was around 2.98MLD.
Kota Kinabalu: The State Government is doing its best to solve the Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s (UMS) water woes before the end of this month.
State Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said the issue could be overcome by the completion of Telibong 2 Phase 2 project (T2P2) which was commissioned in early December.
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“However, there are some piping works that need to be completed in order for the additional volume of treated water from T2P2 to be linked and released into the distribution network.
“All efforts are being done to ensure this is completed before the end of January, thus easing the pressing issue that is being faced currently,” he told the New Straits Times.
Shahelmey, who is also state public works minister, also added that based on Sabah Water Department records for last month, the average volume of water supplied to UMS was around 2.7 million litres per day (MLD) but the varsity’s requirement was around 2.98MLD.
In the case of shortage of the water supply, he said the department had topped up the supply by sending water tankers to UMS.
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“On the other hand, the continuous challenge caused by water theft through illegal tappings and vandalism to the Water Department’s pipe network and system also contribute to the problem.”
In PUTRAJAYA, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim instructed the relevant party to submit a report regarding the ongoing water supply problem at UMS, despite the government having approved RM3 million last year to overcome the problem.
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Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said he found out from social media about UMS students still facing water problems and raised the matter to Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir.
“I don’t understand (water problem still not solved). Maybe, the project takes time. I don’t want to judge. I want a report on what has happened since the (RM3 million allocation) was approved by the Minister of Finance.
“Perhaps, KSP (Treasury Secretary-General Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican) can ask the secretary-general of the ministry concerned. What happened since I approved (the RM3 million allocation) and the actions taken by the ministry and the university,“ he added.
Zambry announced an additional allocation of RM2 million to UMS for the same purpose on Monday.
The prime minister said at a meeting with the leaders of the Pahang government and the State Public Works Department yesterday, he took the opportunity to explain the country’s financial position to them.
During the meeting, he said, there were requests for allocations of between RM7 billion and RM8 billion for infrastructure-related projects in the state.
“I see that sometimes there are states that are ‘disconnected’. That’s why I used that time to explain our debt, about the deficit. But (if) there is an urgent need, we approve allocations, for example for management and ‘maintenance’.
“This means that the government machinery should ensure not only uniformity but also understanding, for example, we want every officer, not only in the Ministry of Finance, but in every ministry, in the state and district, to understand at least what the government’s capabilities are, what the constraints are,“ he said.
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