Businessman confounds minister by connecting piped water to his village with just a fraction of estimated cost
Fatimah turns on the tap at the village as Ho (centre) looks on.
KUCHING: A former resident of a small village in Dalat has proven that all it takes is RM5,000 to complete a water supply project estimated to cost RM350,000 by the Public Works Department.
The village by the river which has only eight households has been denied treated piped water because of the exorbitant estimate to lay the pipes although it is barely a mile from Kampung Medong Hilir , a major village in the district, which has that amenity for years.
Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah who is also the state assemblywoman for the area was told that it was not viable to spend so much money on so few people when she brought up the plight of the villagers three years ago.
“And as there are only eight families there, there is no economy of scale to provide basic amenities such as treated water supply and electricity,” she said.
The village which has yet to have a name seemed destined to be without treated water supply until Ho Yen Guan a businessman who grew up in the village told the minister he could do the connection for just RM5,000.
The proposed cost of RM5,000 included the expenses of purchasing 14 rolls of poly pipe, 11 pieces of poly sockets, meter installation and labour cost for land clearing and laying of pipes.
“He (Yen Guan) promised that in two months, the eight families there will have treated water supply,” said Fatimah.
Since Ho was not drunk when he made that claim, Fatimah approved a minor rural project (MRP) fund to prove it.
Last Sunday, Fatimah visited his sister’s Ho Yen Lian’s house, the first house in the village to have piped water .
“I turned on the tap myself and it worked. I don’t know how Mr Ho (Yen Guan) did it. But he did. I was so amazed that with just RM5,000, he could get it done. What was even more amazing was that out of the RM5,000, some of it was used as ‘compensation’ which some villagers demanded for the pipe to go through their land.”
When Fatimah approved the fund she cautioned Ho that his water supply connection must be legal and the minister was happy that he had adhered to the regulations.
“Everything that was done was legal and proper. That was the first thing I wanted Mr Ho to promise me. And it was. His sister (Yen Lian), who is now enjoying treated water, actually has a water meter.”
Fatimah is now waiting for water supply to be connected to the other houses in the village and is mulling if the ‘Ho model’ may be applicable to a community of 10 families at Kampung Nanas Seberang of Sg Kut Tengah.
The 10-family community of Kpg Nanas Seberang is an offshoot settlement of Kpg Nanas and is in the same situation as the small village of eight families off Kpg Medong Hilir.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Ho said the cost of the whole project was actually RM5,441 but he did not mind topping up the cost overrun.
“RM5,000 is only good enough to buy the materials. Then with the help of the land owners and workers provided by my supportive friends, I managed to get things done.”
Asked if he was an engineer, he replied that what he had done did not require the knowledge of a rocket scientist or an engineer. It was the result of logic and thinking out of the box.
“There is already water supply at my sister’s house. I also managed to link it to the jetty. Now the villagers living nearby can come to collect water from my sister’s house without having to pay a single sen.
“My next plan is to build another jetty onto which I will build basic amenities such as toilet, bathroom and wash place. The whole jetty, upon completion, will be open to all villagers, even those across the river. It will be the village’s common bath and wash place,” said Ho.
He estimated that the whole project would be completed by year-end, and has invited Fatimah to declare it open.
“I am doing it to help my villagers as well as Datuk Fatimah. She does not neglect us and so we don’t neglect her. We will work closely with her and offer any help we can,” said Ho .