'Sue state dept for UMS water woes,' students tell VC in meet

Summary

• UMS students are urging the university's vice-chancellor to sue the state's water department for RM100 million over water supply issues.

• The student group, Suara Mahasiswa Sabah, is planning a rally to address this and other concerns, and the vice-chancellor acknowledges their right to freedom of expression.

• Additional issues raised include the appointment of the Sabah governor as UMS chancellor, a request to reduce tuition fees, and threats to an alternative school for stateless children run by the student.

A group representing student activists behind a planned rally in Kota Kinabalu, with Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s water woes among the focus, has reiterated a call for administrators to file an RM100 million suit against the state’s water department.

The call was made during a meeting between rally organiser Suara Mahasiswa Sabah and UMS’s vice-chancellor Kasim Mansur at the university campus today.

“Our initial discussion immediately touched on the issue of water supply at UMS and the first demand of the assembly, namely a RM100 million lawsuit against Jabatan Air Negeri Sabah, with the demand that the money be returned to the university community - covering the welfare of students, university staff, and lecturers,” said Suara Mahasiswa UMS president Fadhil Kasim.

According to Fadhil, Kasim (above, second from right) expressed the university’s concern on several aspects, particularly the government-to-government approach between a public university and a state agency in initiating legal action.

Fadhil, however, insisted that the suit be filed, as previous efforts by the university to address the water supply issue have failed, leading to problems for students.

“UMS has used many of the university’s resources, especially financial ones, to address the water issue, such as ordering water tanks.

“The Sabah Water Department must be immediately taken to court. This matter is placed as the first demand of the Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 movement,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

“The university can also seek the services and advice of Suhakam in the process of initiating the legal action,” he added.

Water shortages

Kasim previously said the university started facing water shortages as early as 2020, following rapid development in nearby areas.

UMS requires between 3.5 and five million litres of water daily and serves about 11,000 on-campus students and over 23,000 people during the day, including staff and those commuting in.

On June 3, Warisan Youth chief Terence Au questioned why the Sabah government allegedly downplayed the critical water crisis at UMS, despite substantial evidence.

He also asked why the university’s efforts to address the issue since 2023 were ignored or allegedly dismissed by the state water department.

Last month, Suara Mahasiswa Sabah announced that the Perhimpunan Aman Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 (Peaceful Rally Against Sabah Corruption 2.0) was set for June 21 and 22.

Freedom of expression

Fadhil today said Kasim had reaffirmed during the meeting that freedom of expression is a right of every student and citizen, as enshrined in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, the highest law of the land.

“However, he (Kasim) raised concerns about the need for venue owner consent, to which we clarified that the government is currently implementing a moratorium on Subsection 5 (regarding venue owner consent) of the Peaceful Assembly Act, which is also set to be amended.

“We also listened to the professor’s recollection of his student days in the United States during the 1980s, where he witnessed how students exercised their freedom of speech to criticise leaders and show solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement,” he added.

Fadhil said other issues raised during the meeting include the group’s objection to the appointment of Sabah governor Musa Aman as UMS’ chancellor; a formal request to reduce tuition fees; as well as demolition threats against an alternative school for stateless children, run by the student group.

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