TAWAU: The ongoing water supply crisis that continues to “haunt” residents of Pulau Sebatik and the Felda Umas settlements here requires a structural solution rather than rhetoric that the matter is “being addressed”, said Sebatik assemblyman Manahing Tinggilani.
He said he had taken note of the government’s statement that a long-term plan was being arranged, including a proposal to deepen the water retention pond at Wallace Bay to increase water storage capacity in the affected area.
However, he said the main question among the people was no longer merely about plans on paper, but the seriousness of their implementation.
He stressed that the people had for too long heard various announcements, site visits and statements claiming the water issue was “being addressed”, “being worked on” and “would be improved”.
“The reality is that residents of Pulau Sebatik and the Felda Umas cluster continue to face repeated water supply disruptions that affect daily life, children’s schooling, economic activities and public health,” he said here on Tuesday.
Manahing said the proposal to deepen the Wallace Bay retention pond was indeed a positive step.
However, he feared the people would continue to view it as another promise at risk of being buried like many previous announcements if implementation continued to move slowly without a clear timeline and transparent monitoring.
He said the continued dependence on water tankers and bottled water aid whenever a crisis occurred clearly showed that a structural solution to the issue had yet to be fully achieved.
“This situation is particularly worrying, especially in the Felda Umas-Umas cluster, where the community appears to be continuously forced to rely on emergency aid that cannot become a permanent mechanism to fulfil the people’s basic needs,” Manahing added.
As such, he urged Felda management not to merely wait for outside intervention without a more proactive and comprehensive internal solution plan.
He said recurring water supply issues in Felda settlements required clearer accountability from management, including in terms of system maintenance, coordination of emergency responses and implementation of truly effective long-term solutions.
“The people of Sebatik and the Felda Umas-Umas cluster are not asking for seasonal sympathy. They are demanding their basic right to enjoy a stable and consistent clean water supply,” he stressed.
At the same time, he raised questions on when the Wallace Bay pond deepening project would begin and be completed, and how much additional water supply capacity was expected to be resolved through the project.
Manahing also questioned what specific solution plans Felda management had to ensure residents in the Umas-Umas cluster would no longer depend on emergency aid.
He further questioned who would be held accountable if project implementation continued to be delayed without any concrete solution.
“Water is not a small issue to be politicised every time a crisis occurs. Water is a basic necessity for the people. The people have suffered enough living in uncertainty while the promised solutions have yet to be truly felt on the ground.
“The people of Sebatik and the Felda Umas-Umas cluster no longer want mere rhetoric. They want action, firm implementation and results that can truly guarantee the future of the next generation,” he said.
