Johny Weiss Engkamat
SIBU: The recent flooding in Bawang Assan that was highlighted by Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing is ‘not a big issue’, according to a former councillor.
Johny Weiss Engkamat, who resides in Bawang Assan, said flooding is a common occurrence in parts of Sarawak especially in low-lying areas.
“Floods do not happen only in Bawang Assan but elsewhere as well including in Bintulu.
“Perhaps Tiong should not use the issue for political purposes,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
The former Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) councillor was responding to photos and videos uploaded on Tiong’s Facebook page which showed flooding in several low-lying areas in Bawang Assan.
Johny added that Bawang Assan assemblyman Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh has over the years tried his best to resolve the constituency’s flooding issue.
“Many years ago, quite a number of low-lying areas were always flooded.
“Now many of these areas are not flooded anymore as the roads had been upgraded.
“As a resident of Bawang Assan, I can see that many
of the flood issues here have been resolved by Wong,” said Johny.
He noted that while Wong had put in much effort to ensure folk in Bawang Assan could enjoy basic facilities and infrastructure, there were some shortcomings which could be expected as certain issues were more difficult to resolve compared to others.
Nevertheless, he believed the pace of development in Bawang Assan was better than that in some other areas in the state.