KOTA MARUDU, Thurs. - Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) today urged the State government to honour its promise to resolve the perennial problem of water shortage in Kota Marudu which has adversely affected business and caused severe hardships to the people in the district.

Langkon Assemblyman, Dr Maximus Ongkili, said various BN leaders in the past had repeatedly given the undertaking to solve the Kota Marudu water woes once for all but until now literally nothing has been done to improve the situation.

He was speaking to PBS Tandek divisional leaders after chairing its monthly meeting this morning.

Dr Ongkili said he conducted a surprise visit to the water department’s pumping station in Kampung Simpangan on Tuesday to find out the real reasons why water disruption and shortage had continued to plague the Kota Marudu district.

"During the present government’s reign, there have been four successive ministers in charge of water supply in Sabah with one of them occupying the post twice. All of them have given assurances to resolve the Kota Marudu water problem when questioned in the legislative assembly.

"Despite such assurances, the situation is worsening due to the increasing number of water users in the district. At the same time, supply continues to diminish because of pipe leakages and decreasing river water caused by disturbance to water catchment areas", he claimed.

The PBS deputy president observed that the basic problem with the Kota Marudu water supply was the inadequate production capacity to cope with water demand in the district.

"The existing production facilities are outdated. They were first built in the 1970s with mere capacity of 500,000 gallons per day (GPD) and was later upgraded by the PBS government to the present production capacity of 1.4 million GPD. The current water requirement of the district is about 1.8 million GPD, therefore causing a supply deficit of 400,000 GPD", he said.

Dr Ongkili noted that for years shopkeepers in Pekan Kota Marudu could not get water beyond the ground floor of their premises and even normal supply was often disrupted sometimes for days thereby adversely affecting business and investments in the district.

"The situation in Pekan Tandek is worse, where pipes are dry for most of the time and shopkeepers and nearby schools have to buy water from private suppliers. The situation is really pathetic and most disappointing especially in light of the promises of Sabah Baru that, among others, was to supply the State with 80% piped water by the year 2000", he stressed.

According to Dr. Ongkili, the government announced while responding to his question in the State assembly last year that some RM2 million had been allocated to upgrade the district’s water station to cope with the supply shortage but until now nothing has been implemented.

"I understand the money has now been diverted to undertake a consultant’s study on the proposed Bandau Bunded Water Storage Project, the location of which is still unknown until today. This project would surely involve huge costs and take many years to materialise.

"Meanwhile, the water shortage problem in the district will continue to get worse because nothing concrete is being done to solve the immediate supply problem. What is needed is immediate fund to increase the existing production capacity to cope with present water demand", he said.

Dr Ongkili alleged that part of the water shortage problem was also due to poor management of the existing water infrastructure, adding that "there has been very poor forward planning thereby compounding the seriousness of the problem".

He urged the State government to prove its sincerity and financial capacity to the people of Kota Marudu by resolving the immediate problem of water shortage in the district.