Kota Kinabalu: A doctor attached to KPJ Sabah Hospital has taken a water pipe leak along Lorong Bersatu in the Luyang - Damai area to the media after months of complaints produced little action.
The leak sits directly in front of the hospital entrance, leaving the road potholed and deteriorating.
“I have been complaining since February to Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), the Public Works Department, the State Water Department and elected representatives, but the leak right in front of KPJ is still not fixed,” said the doctor, who asked not to be named.
“My car has gone into potholes caused by this leak. The road is full of holes,” he said.
The doctor said the decision to speak to the press came only after exhausting every available channel and finding that the response from agencies was slow and half-hearted at best.
The frustration deepened when the doctor observed how swiftly the opposite carriageway on the same road was dealt with once politicians visited, took photographs and posted them on social media.
That stretch, which had several leaks and was in worse overall condition, was fully resolved within a week.
“The opposite lane had several leaks and was in worse condition overall, yet the same team found and fixed everything within a week once the politicians came and took photographs,” the doctor said.
“I am still waiting for the same urgency to be applied here,” he said.
He said an officer from the Water Department confirmed the complaint had been received and said the team will investigate.
“The officer told me that excavation work began in April at the reported location but no pipe was found at that point. Work was then shifted in May to the roundabout area near the KPJ exit after the original pipe position was traced to that vicinity.
“In the latest written update, the officer said their technical teams are now entering a second month of active on-site investigation and were working to minimise water supply disruption to users.
“The officer said further developments would be communicated as they emerged,” he said.
The doctor pointed out that no satisfactory reason had been given for why excavation was not carried out directly at the visible leak point and that the drawn-out process had left the road surface heavily deteriorated.
Matters took a further turn when DBKK workers patched the road surface and declared the leak resolved but the doctor said water was seeping through again by that same evening.
“They patched it up and said there was no leak. But by evening the water was coming through again,” he said.
“How do you declare no leak when you can see it with your own eyes?
He also voiced his concern about the implications of an unresolved pipe leak during the dry season, pointing out that continued wastage would eventually drive-up costs for consumers.
“We are in a dry season and water is being wasted like this. Why can they not send the same team that fixed the opposite lane to come and fix this one? They solved a worse problem in a week. This one they say is a small leak, but the road tells a different story,” he said.
