COMMENT: The flash flood that hit Kapayan constituency, especially the Beverly and Bundusan areas, was one of the worst in the decade and residents associated the flash floods to the poor drainage system when the unusually heavy downpour came.
Many locations in Kapayan and Penampang experienced worse flooding for the first time and most of the poorly maintained drains in residential areas have resulted in slow or blocked outflow of rainwater.
Jannie Lasimbang, ADUN Kapayan questioned why the solutions and strategies of the local authorities are taking ages to implement?
“How many projects and necessary financial allocation have been planned and approved to flood mitigation in Sabah and what are the steps taken by the local authorities to ensure that the drainage system are well-maintained to curb floods in the future?” she further queried.
“Relevant authorities also need an integrated strategy to spot these natural disasters and consider timely fundamental issues.
“The authorities must have the efficient teams to look at the issue holistically and draw up a drainage master plan to solve and understand the root cause of the floods problem.
“For example, the warning from the Meteological Department, Malaysia was only issued at 3.05pm on 15 September 2021 while heavy rain has already started to fall at about 12.30 pm on the same day in Penampang.”
“I urged the GRS Government to look into these matters as soon as possible and provide cash assistance and relief to those affected by this severe flood as was promised.
“I also fully support the press statement by Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Fong Hin regarding the shameful discrimination towards Sabah in terms of allocation.
“My heart goes out to all those who are affected and pray that flood victims, and especially those who have lost their lives, are given the strength to face these challenges.
“Pusat Perhubungan ADUN Kapayan will continue to monitor the flood relief efforts, implementation and funding of the flood mitigation proposals and to communicate with the authorities and the rakyat,”.
