KOTA KINABALU: The Pan Borneo Highway construction work believed to be worth more than RM250 million along Jalan Donggongon-Kinarut has caused flash flood problem to villagers at Kampung Nambazan.
The most affected one is Dennis Kung whose house became the victim of flash floods that caused him more than RM20,000 in losses for the past two years after the construction work began in mid-2014.
According to Dennis, the main culprit is the poor drainage system built by the construction company.
“The drain will be overflowed whenever it rains as their house is located in a lower ground.
“Before the Pan Borneo Highway started construction, we seldom experience flash flood. Only for the past two years we were forced to face all this.
“Our JKKK (Village Development and Security Committee) chairman has submitted complaints to the respective authorities but to no avail. The contractor broke the drain wall on Monday. However, it has made it even worse as the water flowed into our vicinity faster than before,” claimed the unhappy resident.
Dennis had never made any personal complaint before as he chose to just be patient and take it positively till now where his family suffered the third flood for the past one week, yesterday.
The floods had caused him irreparable damage in terms of furniture and other household belongings as the water level rose very fast, he said.
Dennis added that he would make a police report for losses claim today.
Meanwhile, Moyog assemblymen Terrence Siambun lambasted the drainage failure in Jalan Lama Penampang-Kinarut in Nambazan, blaming the Public Works Department and the Pan Borneo contractor’s inefficiency to ensure water flow run into the Dambai River.
“I was informed by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development in a written answer during the July 2015 State Assembly sitting that a total of 31 culvert crossings and a bridge at Dambai will be built along the road to divert the flowing water into the Moyog River.
“I have inspected and yes, all the drains and culverts have been made available. But why there is no inspection to oversee that drainage system work accordingly without causing damage to the nearby residences?” said Siambun, adding that the drain also caused a few blockages, thus resulting in flood at the lower ground road near Dewan Malakun at Dambai.
The blockage had also affected other houses at Kampung Nambazan as the water did not flow down to the river due to the clogged drains here and there, he claimed.
It was the negligence of the authorities that caused all the unnecessary problems to motorists and community in Kibabaig and Nambazan villages.
“One could not say that he or she could not stop the rain. It is the authority’s obligations. Stop finding excuses,” he said.