A boy fills containers with untreated well water on Pulau Keniogan. The water is often yellow, salty and unclean, but remains one of the main sources for villagers without piped supply.
SANDAKAN: While almost all parts of Malaysia are already enjoying treated piped water, over 1,200 residents on the island of Pulau Keniogan in Sabah are surviving on rainwater and shallow wells.
Located off the eastern coast of Beluran, families in the village are forced to collect and store rainwater for everyday chores such as cooking and washing.
Life gets harder during dry spells, particularly for the elderly and families with young children.
This is because they have to walk long distances to fetch water from open wells which are not only murky but also salty.
“It’s no longer safe to use, even for washing. We can’t drink it, we can’t cook with it,” said Amsinah Gulam, who runs a small food stall on the island.
“The well water used to be acceptable when filtered, but now it’s yellow and salty.”
Her family of eight is now entirely dependent on bottled water for drinking and cooking, which costs them RM300 a month.
“If we have money, we buy. If not, we cut down or just wait for rain,” she said.
Several villagers have also installed water pumps on makeshift wells to draw from the island’s groundwater.
However, they are prone to breaking down and are unable to meet demand during dry spells.
Kampung Keniogan village chief Azmi Haji Madlis said the lack of access to clean water is a daily hardship, not just an inconvenience.
“Other places have clean water from pipes. Here, we still depend on rain and unclean sources,” he said.
Till today, there has been no solution to the villagers’ plight despite the issue being repeatedly raised with their elected representatives, said Azmi.
He said there were proposals for a gravity-fed water system and small filtration units using nearby springs or groundwater but nothing has materialised.
