MIRI: Chairman of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Bawang Assan branch Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew has been chided for having quoted studies and reports on Sibu’s flood issues made more than 10 years ago.
“Has the Senator forgotten that we in the second half of 2020? Why did he insist on recollecting a report from 2008?” asked The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the People’s Republic of China, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, in a press statement on Monday (August 17).
The Bintulu MP argued that the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) should make the latest survey report based on the current situation to find the most effective solution to the prevailing flood problems in the town.
“With the surge in upstream activities, the riverbeds of the Rajang, Igan and other tributaries have gone through a lot of changes.
“It would be ineffective and unwise to implement water management policies based on a report made 12 years ago. It is wholly unrealistic,” he said, adding that Lau should stop quoting information from the past.
“Water management and control is about implementing preventive measures with future risk assessments as a focus and the DID needs to implement these.
“The DID must first complete its survey report and use this data to implement the water management and control project.
“I am merely sharing my personal on-site experience with the DID as it is unreasonable for Lau — who has had many opportunities to develop solutions — to now insist on his own opinions and anecdotes as the best solutions.”
The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president also pointed out that Lau was not an expert, nor is he an engineer in the related fields.
“We don’t need unnecessary and cheap politicking here, especially not by political parties filled with leaders who suddenly discover long-standing local problems after 30 to 40 years in politics.
“I would emphasise here again that if we do not ensure that the rivers are able to accommodate the amount of water discharged from the dams, construction of more pumping stations will not help,” he said.
Tiong also asked why the area near SMK St Elizabeth still got flooded within hours after it rained if Sibu had a pumping station.
“There are many areas in Sibu, urban and rural, that have seen much development over the years but sadly the local flood mitigation system has not been similarly developed to cope,” he said.
Tiong added, “Comparing the situation in the Netherlands with the Sibu floods is like comparing apples to oranges. The Netherlands is nearly surrounded by the sea while Sibu sits on water discharged by the Rajang and Igan.
“Therefore, only by managing the rivers and making them the focus of flood mitigation can we solve the prevailing flooding. And I believe this is the approach that all must take in order to solve the flood issues in Sibu.”
