Tale of two villages in Serian

1

Some villagers deprived of water due to break-up of settlements resulting from politics

This man thinks it is a good chance to take a bath as well while collecting water.  — Photo courtesy of DAP

This man thinks it is a good chance to take a bath as well while collecting water. — Photo courtesy of DAP

An elderly man waits for his turn to get water from the pipe in Kampung Sangai Empani.

An elderly man waits for his turn to get water from the pipe in Kampung Sangai Empani.

KUCHING: The situation in Kampung Sangai Empani in Serian, where some 90 households are facing poor water supply, appears confusing because the villagers are divided due to different political orientations.

According to the DAP, the Ministry of Health (MoH) constructed a gravity feed water system in the village two years ago but the source selected by the ministry is said to have insufficient water, which led to dry taps and the problem escalated during the dry season. However, The Borneo Post learned from a MoH source that the matter was more political rather than an issue over water.

“The kampung (village) is now divided into two due to political orientation. The first water supply built by MoH is still functioning,” said the source.

Still, according to the DAP, as the selected water source failed the villagers, the only way for them to get water was to walk for two kilometres just to reach an alternative source.

They had been forced to fetch water by making the 2km walk until the DAP’s Impian Sarawak team figured out a way to construct another pipeline to bring the water to the village.

Just when villagers in Kampung Sangai Empani thought the water supply issue would no longer haunt them, the ministry issued a letter to prohibit the team from connecting the new pipe to the existing distribution network within the village.

The official letter, dated Aug 28 this year, informed the villagers that no connection could be done. A copy of it was also delivered to Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben.

At a news conference yesterday, state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen asked the government why people of Kampung Sangai Empani were denied the basic human right to water.

“This is a ridiculous scenario but it is happening. The DAP Impian Sarawak team has found a better water source with more supply and constructed the pipeline leading from the said water source to the kampung.

“However, when we were about to connect our pipe to the existing distributing network within the kampung, MoH issued a letter, saying that the connection could not be done. As a result, the people had to carry water from our pipe to their houses and then the taps in their houses had no water coming out.”

“You can see children, women and old folks carrying pails of water from the pipe to their houses,” he said in the presence of members of Kampung Sangai Empani Clean Water Supply Committee.

Chong, who is also Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, queried whether Martin had made a complaint and requested the health officer to order the prohibition.

If Martin did not make any request, he asked why the official letter was copied only to him, and not to Serian MP Datuk Seri Richard Riot as well.

“Richard Riot is equally an elected representative in the area, why ADUN only and not MP? Based on what Martin told an online news portal, he supported the move of MoH, saying that villagers should request first. He is talking about irrelevant matter when people do not even have water.

“In the interest of people of Kampung Sangai Empani, Martin Ben should be the first person to jump with joy when the water problem of the said village is resolved by the Impian Sarawak project.”

He also pointed out that the DAP’s Impian Sarawak team spent less than RM50,000 to purchase pipes and other material for the project while MoH had doled out more than RM300,000 for it.

“I have checked with our team on the ground, even with the cost connecting our pipe to the distributing network which would be about RM40,000, the total cost would be less than RM100,000. And we were told that MoH spent more than RM300,000. How can there be such a great discrepancy of costs?”

Chong stressed that they would give Martin and MoH two days to resolve the problem, by issuing a letter to allow the connection.

Failing this, he said they would approach the higher authority for further action. He added seeking help from the World Health Organisation or even the United Nations would be their last resort.

Meanwhile, the MoH source said because of the break-up of the kampong, the new kampong, which is more inclined towards DAP, has no water supply when their water source was blocked by the other kampong.

“DAP Impian Sarawak is actually trying to connect the water to the existing distributing system which MoH fears would not be sufficient for everybody and that DAP’s project is not right to their homes.

“A feasibility study needs to be done before any connection to the existing distributing system of MoH,” the source said.

State health director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan when contacted said his ministry would issue an official statement today.