PENAMPANG: Projek BANTAH, the signature drive against the construction of the Kaiduan Dam, is going strong with more than 2,000 signatures collected since it started two weeks ago.
According to Moyog assemblyman Terrence Siambun, the Coalition Against Kaiduan Dam (CAKD) booth where supporters of the campaign can sign the petition form is still operating at Megalong Shopping Complex here.
“So far, we have more than 2,000 signatures collected, and I urged the people in Penampang to please come and support the campaign against the Kaiduan Dam,” he said during a joint press conference with Penampang member of parliament Darell Leiking here yesterday.
CAKD started its round of collecting the signatures in Moyog earlier this month and is expected to be completed by mid January.
Terrence also urged the state government to find a permanent solution to the flood problem in Penampang, especially in Moyog.
“We are aware that the flood mitigation plan for the district is ready but so far it has yet to be implemented and I was informed that it could be because of lack of funds. We all know that the flooding at Jalan Kibabaig-Minintod is getting worse and is so bad that even heavy vehicles have problem passing the area every time it floods.
“This must be resolved as it causes worry and inconvenience to the people every time it rains heavily,” he said.
Terrence also repeated his call for the government to maintain the system where the village head and Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) chairman is elected by the villagers and not appointed.
“In Moyog, the previous elected representative had implemented the election of JKKK, so why can’t we continue with that system? Why does the government want to change the system which has been implemented for quite some time now? I think this is not fair to the villagers.
“The villagers should be given the right to elect who they want to be the JKKK, the same goes for the village head. There are some villages which do not have a village head as the post was not filled after the previous person’s service was terminated.
“These posts must be filled so why not let the villagers elect who they want to lead the kampung?” Terrence asked.