Keadilan's sole candidate in the Sarawak parliamentary elections Wan Zainal Abidin Wan Senusi has challenged state Barisan Nasional government leaders to a public debate on whether the Sarawak River Barrage has proved itself in mitigating floods in Kuching.

Addressing a ceramah in Jalan Datuk Ajibah Abol in the Petra Jaya constituency where he is contesting last night, Wan Zainal told the crowd that based on expert opinion he would dispute claims by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Finance and Public Utilties Dr George Chan and the Natural Resources Environment Board (NREB) deputy chairperson Dr James Dawos (who is also the PBB candidate for Mambong) that the multi-million ringgit barrage project constructed in Bintawa near Kuching did not cause the floods that adversely affected much of Kuching during the Chinese New Year period in January

(Heavy rains coincided with King Tides during the period, causing many parts of the city and its outskirts to be under water and considerable damage to properties. It was described as one of the worst in recent years in the state).

Wan Zainal (right in photo) said the authorities had disturbed nature by diverting the flow of waters from the river into a new river channel, causing sendimentation.

The 51-year-old public accountant and state Keadilan secretary suggested that the barrage, managed by a company linked to the Miri-based diversified business conglomerate Sin Yang, be demolished.

Instead, a bridge should be built across Sungai Sarawak.

Wan Zainal is engaged in a straight fight with BN-PBB newcomer Kuching lawyer Fadillah Yusop in the predominantly-Malay constituency.

Wan Zainal supported the Sarawak DAP's call for road and bridge tolls to be abolished, arguing that if Sarawak is considered as one of the richest states in Malaysia, it could always use the revenue from oil and gas as well as timber to pay for bridges.

"To the Kancil owner, RM1.50 is a lot of money," he said, referring to the toll charges recently imposed on crossing the newly-completed bridge at Tanah Puteh. The state government has decided to collect bridge tolls and fees for ferry crossings on this second bridge which has been named Jambatan Tun Mohamad Sallahudin across Sungai Sarawak in Kuching.

Smart partnerships

He also took issue with Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud for neglecting Kuching kampung Malays by not granting them land titles or leases to establish their legitimate rights despite their having lived on the land for more than a century.

He added that he had learnt that because of the elections the state government would be distributing some of the titles or leases to land, now fetching a high premium due to its proximity to the city centre, akin to Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur.

He suggested instead that the government encourage smart partnerships between these landowners and developers so they could really benefit from ownership of their land.

Those in authority should not create the impression that they were only interested in taking other people's land by offering them poor compensation and then giving the land away to their cronies and relatives.

Wan Zainal also took a dig at Taib Mahmud for not having confidence in local dentists by jetting off to Switzerland recently for treatment.

Among those present at the ceramah were state Keadilan liaison chief Hafsah Harun and Keadilan's 1999 candidate for Santubong Ustaz Hussaini Hamdan, who also spoke.

Hafsah told malaysiakini that in the party's door-to-door campaign and ceremah , Keadilan would drive home the message on the need for a 'voice to speak up for the Malays in parliament'.

Wan Zainal told the crowd that former Petra Jaya MP Dr Sulaiman Daud had failed to live up to his promises to speak out for the Malays in his constituency on issues of great concern to them.