Kho Teck Wan hits out at Michael Kong

suppadmin | December 30, 2020

In respond to the accusation made by Chong Chieng Jen’s special assistant Michael Kong that Stampin resettle scheme’s flood issue is being overlooked, MBKS lead by mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng received many requests to address flood problem, and is trying to address all requests received, said Cr Kho Teck Wan.

She said different types of flood required different mitigation methods.
“There are flood caused by high tide, heavy rain and other human factors. Some can be resolved by MBKS but some required collaboration with other agencies. MBKS engages Sarawak Department of irrigation and drainage on a regular basis to study flood causes and to improve drainage system in greater Kuching area, despite limited development funding, ” she pointed out.

As a general rule, Kho added, if the water in the drain is always full and stagnant even during dry season, there may be a blockage down stream. Resident should contact council to resolve such issue Assoc as possible to avoid flood and mosquitoes breeding.likewise, if a property flooded after a heavy downpour, it can be flow, drainage capacity or blockage issue. When water flow or drainage capacity is the cause, a drain upgrade is needed and the process will takes longer due to the need to seek funding and going through open tender process.

“When a property is flooded during the high tide, it means it is seating at the low laying area. High tide is a natural phenomena caused by gravitational pull and increased seawater volume due to global warming. One of the way to solve this issue is to relocate like Jakarta, which is in the the process of moving to Kalimantan. Or we may need a barrage to stop the seawater from entering, which is beyond the jurisdiction of MBKS. To control flood and better manage the drainage system, Sarawak DID had proposed the Projek Pembangunan Lembangan Sungai Bersepadu (PLSB) Sungai Sarawak (Sg Sarawak integrated River Basin project) with a cost of RM150 million in year 2018, ” she added.

Despite overwhelming support from Kuchingites to Pakaran Harapan, Kho stated the urgently needed Kuching flood mitigation project however was put under review by the PH Federal Government after GE14, and has only been given the green light to proceed after more than a year. Due to the delay, consultant was only being appointed on 28th February 2020. The physical implementation of some flood mitigation projects are expected to commence only in year 2021.

In the meantime, she assured MBKS and DID will continue to do the quick fixes to solve flash flood issues in Kuching City, which include Stampin areas as well and urged Kuchingites to report their flood issue to MBKS via the i-People mobile application, MBKS’s website, email or hotline.