Rubbish-clogged drains among causes of Sabah floods, says Bung

 

Drainage has not kept up with rapid development in big towns like Kota Kinabalu, resulting in flash floods. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Clogged drains from litter thrown by irresponsible people are among the factors that have caused flash floods in Sabah, deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin said.

“Our people tend to throw rubbish into drains when they see one.

“That’s why our drains are filled with rubbish. Such a mentality needs to change to prevent flash floods from happening,” he said at the state legislative assembly sitting today.

Bung, who is also Sabah works minister, was responding to a supplementary question from Junz Wong (Warisan-Tanjung Aru) on whether the Pan Borneo Highway project contributed to the flash floods in the state recently.

While Bung did not dismiss this possibility, he said other road construction projects could have also caused the floods.

He said another factor was the state’s rapid development, especially in large towns like Kota Kinabalu, where utilities, particularly drainage, was inadequate.

“Kota Kinabalu is going through rapid development but its utilities are not well-planned. We must provide adequate utilities to avoid the risk of floods, which can cause destruction and death,” he added.

Bung said he would be chairing a special action committee meeting this Friday to identify the real causes of the flash floods in the state and measures to overcome the problem.

To a question from Tan Lee Fatt (DAP-Likas) on the state government’s action against concessionaires which failed to carry out their responsibilities, resulting in flash floods, Bung said the Sabah works department was consistently monitoring projects carried out by these companies.

“A non-compliance report will be issued to them if they are found not to be carrying out the construction work as scheduled and not adhering to the work specifications.”

He also said the state works department, through the concessionaires and road maintenance companies, had increased the frequency of cleaning-up operations of the drains, apart from carrying out routine maintenance work. - FMT