Sarawak has been hit hard by El Nino weather phenomenon causing severe water shortages, in the state but Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu anak Numpang, who is chairperson of the state Disaster Relief Committee, is taking the situation very lightly.

He has come under fire from Sarawak PKR for his apparent lack of understanding of the severe impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon on the people and his lack of initiative to address the problems.

Several quarters have also called on the deputy chief minister to resign from the cabinet for his failure to solve the water crisis in his own constituency of Layar.

“As chairperson of the committee, Jabu appears not to comprehend the severe impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon. Instead, he gave instructions for the distribution of bottled drinking water and for cloud seeding.

“This is a knee-jerk response,” said state PKR vice-chairperson and Batu Lintang assemblyperson See Chee How ( left ).

“Jabu should immediately call for an emergency meeting of all relevant authorities, including the National Security Council and all enforcement agencies and local authorities, to look into the problems of poor air quality in the state and the impending lengthy dry spell.

“Most importantly, the systematic and sustainable supply of clean water to all the drought hit areas should be looked into.

“As of today, the areas with unhealthy level Air Pollutant Index (API) readings are Sibu and Sri Aman, whereas those approaching the unhealthy levels are Kuching, Samarahan, Sarikei, Bintulu and Miri. This is not a good sign as there are only 10 API reading stations in Sarawak.

 

“It is also reported that drought has hit Sarawak and most coastal regions, particularly Saratok, Roban, Betong, Balingian, Simunjan, Sebuyau, are suffering from dry taps, with there being no rainwater or stream water to collect,” See said.

He said the Sarawak Disaster Relief Committee was once again a complete letdown as it held its first meeting just last week, but failed to put in place measures to mitigate the impacts of El Nino and plan for the prolonged dry spell.

Jabu has played down the problem, saying that only the districts and sub-districts of Saratok, Roban, Spaoh, Debak, Pulau Bruit and coastal areas in Betong were facing water scarcity, and that the Welfare Department was distributing two boxes of drinking water to each family in the affected areas.

 

See said: “In fact, more than half of the districts and sub-districts in Sarawak are facing water crisis. How long can two boxes of bottled drinking water sustain a family? A longhouse family in Balingian is said to require two boxes of water every day.

Serious, commensurate efforts needed

“The deputy chief minister must invite more government departments and agencies to the meeting to analyse the risks and impacts and to ensure that a serious and commensurate efforts are put in to address the emergency situation.”

See also called for the Health Department to check and monitor all the water catchments and water treatment plants to ensure their sustainability and safety.

“The health and medical officers must be vigilant to issue alerts for prevention of disease outbreaks linked to drought in all hospitals and clinics, especially those in the rural districts, and  ensure sufficient supplies of medication as well as despatch trained medical officers for relief and operations,” he said.

The Public Works Department should take stock of the reserves and sustainability period of raw water in each division and coordinate efforts among the divisional offices to provide logistics to distribute raw water to those divisions suffering shortages, and for the water to be treated and supplies to households.

The Agriculture Department and the Department of Drainage and Irrigation must also formulate plans for irrigation to ensure that food production in the state will not be adversely affected by the dry spell.

The state government should also look into the needs of the police and Fire and Rescue Department for sufficiency and special up-to-date equipment and the logistics in their preparation to deal with forest fires, especially in the peat areas.

 

“While cloud seedings are necessary, the national Security Council should immediately initiate a trans-national mechanism to address the increasing hotspots in neighbouring Kalimantan and to fund support for the state’s remedial actions to combat haze and drought in Sarawak and Sabah,” See added.