Wong (left) and other local DAP members pose beside the swimming pool.
SARIKEI: Everybody here is wondering when the public swimming pool here is going to reopen after being closed since January and Sarikei MP Andrew Wong Ling Biu is one of them.
At a press conference held in DAP branch office here yesterday, Wong echoed the public’s disappointment over the long closure of the only aquatic sport and recreational facility here, saying the authorities concerned should make it a point to update the public on the matter.
It would save the public’s precious time to go there to check from time-to-time only to be disappointed when finding out that the facility was still not ready for use.
“Don’t keep the people in the dark. If the facility is still under repair the management should keep the public informed and to demand that the contractor expedite the work,” Wong said.
According to Wong, when he visited the swimming pool a few days ago, he was shocked to see most of the furniture in the changing room vandalised.
“The lockers broken, stools dismantled, the sink cracked and most of other facilities are also in a very sorry state.”
He said if the damage happened during the time of the previous management, the new management should have repaired them by now.
He, was however, surprised to see the pool itself in tip-top condition and wondered whether the pumps had been repaired.
Wong said the authority concerned should seriously look into ways to put back the swimming pool into operation for the benefit of the public for their recreational and sporting activities.
Meanwhile, the manager of Sarikei Civic Centre, Wong Pak Ung, who also takes charge of the swimming pool management, announced in Jan 20 that the swimming pool had been closed to the public effective Jan 3 to facilitate repair works on four main pumps.
On March 31, he issued another statement to inform the public that the swimming pool was still closed as repair works were in progress.