Bad blood cause of water problem
Local feud leads to choice of smaller river as water source resulting in constant water shortage
KUCHING:
Traditional feud has led to Kampung Sangai Empani (Kpg Empani) folk
opting for a smaller river for their water supply project, which
resulted in water shortage whenever the dry season set in.
According to Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben, there was an initial plan by Ministry of Health (MoH) to source the water from Sg Sangai, which would have provided them with a constant source of water.
“The plan was rejected because some villagers from Kpg Empani did not want to share the same water source with those at Kampung Sangai Mawang. That was the start of water shortage problem experienced by Kpg Empani,” Martin told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Initially, there was only one village – Kpg Sangai, named after the Sg Sangai that passes through the village. Due to traditional feud, the village was split into two – Kpg Empani and Kpg Mawang.
In 2013, MoH proposed the construction of a Steward Tray Filtration System (STFS) on Sg Sangai. Kpg Mawang (82 families) which is situated on the upper part of Sg Sangai accepted the proposal while Kpg Empani (86 families) situated downstream refused.
As a result, two dams were built. One on Sg Sangai for the Kpg Mawang folk and the other on Singok River (Sg Singok) as requested by Kpg Empani folk, though MoH had already predicted that water from Sg Singok might not be sufficient due to low volume.
Construction of both dams costing RM171,092 started at the beginning of October 2013 and was completed at the end of November the same year.
Due to high water usage by the villagers and the low water flow from Sg Singok, the system was insufficient to continuously supply water; after three weeks without rain it would run dry as was expected based on the initial assessment by MoH.
The shortage of water in Kpg Empani has prompted Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) Impian Sarawak to construct another dam and gravity feed pipe from Sg Sangai, which was the source originally proposed by MOH but rejected by the villagers two years ago.
After the new dam was constructed, water from the new dam however failed to reach the village. That led to a recent application for the new pipe system to be connected to the reticulation system of Sg Sangai dam built by MOH in 2013.
“The problem of water shortage in Kpg Empani is not due to political discrimination. It was the choice of the villagers. Geographically and facility wise, Kpg Empani and Kpg Mawang are one entity. They share the same road and the same school. They even vote in the same polling station. Social wise, they are inter-related. For the last four and half years, as much as RM600,000 worth of projects have been going to this area.
“However, traditional feud has split them and in recent years, their relationship has worsened due to the exploitation of the opposition,” said Martin.
Despite losing in the polling station of SK Sangai, Martin, who claimed to have grown up as a village boy, said he understood the hardship of living without water.
“In 2014, I requested for funds to build a new dam for Kpg Empani. It was approved by the federal government. And I am waiting for the funds to arrive. But at the same time, DAP’s Sarawak Impian has already built a dam for them. This dam DAP has built is an open dam which does not have any filtration system. The one I proposed is another STFS,” stressed Martin.
Although Impian Sarawak has completed the new dam at Sg Sangai, water from the new dam did not reach the village at all.
This resulted in the recent application for the new pipe system to be connected to the reticulation system of the Sg Sangai system built by MOH in 2013, which was turned down by the Health Department.
Meanwhile, Health Department state director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan explained the application to combine the two sources of water was turned down to avoid possible degradation of water quality.
“The site of the new dam is located just 48 feet above the village, which fails to provide enough pressure to distribute water to the 100 doors.
Secondly, the new dam did not include any filtration system to ensure good water quality compared to the sand filtration system installed by the Health Department, which is effective to filter debris to ensure clean and clear water.
“Mixing the two waters would result in poorer water quality. It could also impact on the reticulation system end points as blockages are prone to occur if the water is not filtered. Due to these reasons, the Health
Department recommended that the two systems remain separate so that the two waters do not mix,” he pointed out.
As he was also informed that Martin had allocated funds for a new gravity feed water supply project for the village, he said the department was ready to provide the expertise and technical know-how for the new project.
“We wish to put that on record that the people’s wellbeing and health remain uppermost in all the decisions,” stressed Dr Zulkifli.
Both Martin and Dr Zulkifli were responding to accusations by DAP state chairman Chong Chieng Jen that the Health Department had chosen a poor water source for the original dam and had denied permission to connect pipes from the new dam to the existing system.
The Rural Water Supply programme in Sarawak is provided by Sarawak Medical Department. It was started in 1963 under its Rural Health Improvement Scheme (RHIS). In 2000, RHIS was changed to Program Bekalan Air dan Sanitasi (Bakas) under the Sarawak State Health Department. The programme continues until today.
Martin Ben
According to Kedup assemblyman Martin Ben, there was an initial plan by Ministry of Health (MoH) to source the water from Sg Sangai, which would have provided them with a constant source of water.
“The plan was rejected because some villagers from Kpg Empani did not want to share the same water source with those at Kampung Sangai Mawang. That was the start of water shortage problem experienced by Kpg Empani,” Martin told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Initially, there was only one village – Kpg Sangai, named after the Sg Sangai that passes through the village. Due to traditional feud, the village was split into two – Kpg Empani and Kpg Mawang.
In 2013, MoH proposed the construction of a Steward Tray Filtration System (STFS) on Sg Sangai. Kpg Mawang (82 families) which is situated on the upper part of Sg Sangai accepted the proposal while Kpg Empani (86 families) situated downstream refused.
As a result, two dams were built. One on Sg Sangai for the Kpg Mawang folk and the other on Singok River (Sg Singok) as requested by Kpg Empani folk, though MoH had already predicted that water from Sg Singok might not be sufficient due to low volume.
Construction of both dams costing RM171,092 started at the beginning of October 2013 and was completed at the end of November the same year.
Due to high water usage by the villagers and the low water flow from Sg Singok, the system was insufficient to continuously supply water; after three weeks without rain it would run dry as was expected based on the initial assessment by MoH.
The shortage of water in Kpg Empani has prompted Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) Impian Sarawak to construct another dam and gravity feed pipe from Sg Sangai, which was the source originally proposed by MOH but rejected by the villagers two years ago.
After the new dam was constructed, water from the new dam however failed to reach the village. That led to a recent application for the new pipe system to be connected to the reticulation system of Sg Sangai dam built by MOH in 2013.
“The problem of water shortage in Kpg Empani is not due to political discrimination. It was the choice of the villagers. Geographically and facility wise, Kpg Empani and Kpg Mawang are one entity. They share the same road and the same school. They even vote in the same polling station. Social wise, they are inter-related. For the last four and half years, as much as RM600,000 worth of projects have been going to this area.
“However, traditional feud has split them and in recent years, their relationship has worsened due to the exploitation of the opposition,” said Martin.
Despite losing in the polling station of SK Sangai, Martin, who claimed to have grown up as a village boy, said he understood the hardship of living without water.
“In 2014, I requested for funds to build a new dam for Kpg Empani. It was approved by the federal government. And I am waiting for the funds to arrive. But at the same time, DAP’s Sarawak Impian has already built a dam for them. This dam DAP has built is an open dam which does not have any filtration system. The one I proposed is another STFS,” stressed Martin.
Although Impian Sarawak has completed the new dam at Sg Sangai, water from the new dam did not reach the village at all.
This resulted in the recent application for the new pipe system to be connected to the reticulation system of the Sg Sangai system built by MOH in 2013, which was turned down by the Health Department.
Meanwhile, Health Department state director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan explained the application to combine the two sources of water was turned down to avoid possible degradation of water quality.
“The site of the new dam is located just 48 feet above the village, which fails to provide enough pressure to distribute water to the 100 doors.
Secondly, the new dam did not include any filtration system to ensure good water quality compared to the sand filtration system installed by the Health Department, which is effective to filter debris to ensure clean and clear water.
“Mixing the two waters would result in poorer water quality. It could also impact on the reticulation system end points as blockages are prone to occur if the water is not filtered. Due to these reasons, the Health
Department recommended that the two systems remain separate so that the two waters do not mix,” he pointed out.
As he was also informed that Martin had allocated funds for a new gravity feed water supply project for the village, he said the department was ready to provide the expertise and technical know-how for the new project.
“We wish to put that on record that the people’s wellbeing and health remain uppermost in all the decisions,” stressed Dr Zulkifli.
Both Martin and Dr Zulkifli were responding to accusations by DAP state chairman Chong Chieng Jen that the Health Department had chosen a poor water source for the original dam and had denied permission to connect pipes from the new dam to the existing system.
The Rural Water Supply programme in Sarawak is provided by Sarawak Medical Department. It was started in 1963 under its Rural Health Improvement Scheme (RHIS). In 2000, RHIS was changed to Program Bekalan Air dan Sanitasi (Bakas) under the Sarawak State Health Department. The programme continues until today.
Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/10/07/bad-blood-cause-of-water-problem/#ixzz3o3deAEQQ
My comments:
What
is what, I believe only the villagers from Kampung Sangai Impani can tell what
has gone wrong in the first place. One misstep
can lead to a dumpling fall all the way down.
I
wonder why the authority concerned was not making the decision to insist the
villagers from the area sharing the same dam and having the same water source
for the water supply for the common good.
I
wonder why the authority concerned was not exercising the authority to make the right
decision knowing that the villagers would face the said problem of water shortage
when the dry spell happens.
I
wonder why the authority concerned fell victim to the indulgent plays of the
villagers to build the dam at Sg Singok.
