KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah and the State Water Department (JANS) have agreed to communicate better and work together to address water supply issues on campus.
State Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, in giving assurances that the matter could be resolved by early July once the Telibong II treatment plant and piping installations have been completed, said that both parties have decided to put the past behind and move forward.
He said this ongoing problem was due to external and internal factors such as water theft, piping issues, pump operations, miscommunication on water level indicators in the main tank, among others.
“So now, both UMS and JANS have agreed to work together in terms of technical and communication matters. "JANS will also try to ensure that water supply to UMS’ R13 tank is consistent and sufficient, while coordinating with UMS on its pump operations,” said Shahelmey.
He explained that water supply in UMS had actually been quite stable from mid-May up to now, and that there was some misunderstanding when JANS stated that the water level in the R13 tank had always been sufficient while UMS denied it.
It turned out that there was a problem with the tank indicator which will be replaced with a digital indicator once the item arrives and undergoes Customs clearance by next week, he said.
UMS vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor said this matter is actually considerably small and could have been handled amicably between UMS and JANS if it were not politicised.
He said what mattered most now was to move forward and make sure that there will be stable and sufficient water supply for the over 23,000 UMS students, staff and community once they return from their term break next week.
He acknowledged the contributing agents of this issue including water thefts and piping and thanked the state government for their continued support towards the university for almost 30 years since its establishment.
UMS has received a total of RM5mil from the federal government to address this issue, with the funds used to dig and build nine tube wells as back-up for washing and other non-consumption use.
These tube wells can fetch up to 1.5MLD (Million Liters per Day), though the required supply is around 5MLD for everyone to use and consume comfortably.
Once the Telibong II water treatment plant and piping are completed, an additional supply of up to 55MLD can be utilised for Sepanggar folks, including UMS.
