Ng (left) inspects the drain at Kampung Tabuan Dayak.
KUCHING (Oct 27): Secretary of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak, Cherishe Ng, has urged the state government and the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) to prioritise building the Tabuan Jaya drainage improvement project.
In a statement yesterday, she said the project must focus on widening and dredging the existing waterways to solve the years-long flood problems in Kampung Tabuan Dayak whenever there’s incessant rain.
“The project should get off the ground as soon as possible in view of the forthcoming monsoon that often comes with torrential rain, endangering the safety of thousands of inhabitants,” she said.
Ng said the residents were living in houses mostly built along the banks of Tabuan River.
She was in the village yesterday in response to the villagers’ complaints of the constant flash floods in the village whenever its rains. While there, she checks drains in the village (Kpg Tabuan Dayak) and Jalan Wan Alwi to understand the actual situation better.
The villagers told her that the the condition was exacerbated by fallen tree trunks and debris in the river that lacked maintenance.
Ng said the villagers had long been expecting the authority to improve the drainage system but to no avail.
She acknowledged that Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii had on several occasions raised the issue of rehabilitating the waterways (in the village) to put an end to the perennial flooding problems, but also to no avail.
She also said the Tabuan Jaya drainage upgrading project was placed under the jurisdiction of the DID but the whole thing seemed to be still on paper with no signs of commencement.