A refreshing allocation for Sabah’s water woes

Aid flowing in: Anwar announced a RM800mil ­assistance for Sabah and Kelantan when tabling the ­Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan.

KOTA KINABALU: The additional allocation of RM800mil to resolve the water woes in Sabah and Kelantan under the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan has been long awaited, says a state leader.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said he believes the immediate assistance of RM800mil to address water supply disruption in Sabah and Kelantan was based on discussions with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in early June.

Yesterday, Anwar announced the RM800mil assistance for the two states when tabling the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan.

Sabah had high expectations for a speedy RM320mil federal assistance.

But the delay in channelling the assistance became a hot political issue amid the unending water woes, ranging from low water pressure to dry taps over the past 18 months in several parts of the state, including Kota Kinabalu.

When contacted yesterday, Shahelmey said the funds are needed for the implementation of projects to address the problem of non-revenue water as well as to improve the water distribution network.

In the meantime, Sabah has taken measures to reduce low water pressure issues, especially in the state capital, with water supply gradually seeing improvement over the past month or so.

Some of the measures included curbing water theft, fixing pipe leaks and stepping up water production to meet demand in Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran, Putatan, Papar, Beaufort, Keningau, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Sandakan.