Zulhaidah (fourth right), Hadie (right) and other PKR members being brought by the villagers to a site where despite the presence of pipes and taps, there is no water supply.
MIRI: Several rural villages, including those in Sibuti, are still lacking the basic utilities – namely clean water supply, electricity and roads.
In Sungai Kuap area alone, over 200 longhouse villagers from Kuap Tengah, Sungai Pakal and Bukit Entell, have yet to enjoy clean water supply, despites the presence of water pipes there and the project that kicked off more than a year ago.
“These minor rural projects (MRPs) were implemented by the relevant ministry under the then-Barisan National (BN) government.
“The problems affecting these villagers are similar to those faced by some 200 villagers of Rumah Lagan, Sungai Telajin Lambir also in Sibuti (state) constituency, which we visited earlier this month,” Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Women executive committee members Zulhaidah Suboh, who is also Sibuti PKR Women chief, told The Borneo Post yesterday.
She was accompanied by PKR Sibuti deputy chairman Hadie @ Suboh Salleh and several local party members during a recent inspection on a road upgrading project in Sungai Kuap.
“(This is) also sad story – this proposed road leading to the cemetery of the longhouse in Bukit Entell, of which the project commenced on July 24, 2013 and was supposed to reach completion in three months after that date, is a total disgrace.
“On behalf of the rural folk, I appeal to the elected representatives to resolve this matter immediately as such a problem should not have happened in the first place.
“The rural folk deserve to enjoy the three basic utilities – roads, water supply and electricity,” she stressed.
According to Zulhaidah, the 200 villagers are currently depending on rainwater for daily cooking and bathing.
“With no clean or piped water (supply), they are forced to bathe in the river – the quality of which is deteriorating due to the pollution believed to derive from the nearby oil palm estates,” she said.