Munirah Majilis, chief of the young women’s wing, said several areas in Kota Belud were flooded with water from Sungai Kadamaian and Sungai Wariu, which could easily overflow due to the earthquake in the Mount Kinabalu area two years ago.
“The quake felled many trees and plants around the mountain and upstream of the rivers. Consequently, the rivers became shallow,” she said in a statement today.
“We are not blaming anyone for the floods. I believe ecological change caused by the earthquake will take some time to correct itself.
“Sadly, no clear and concrete efforts have been taken to solve the problem. When it rains, certain areas such as Kampung Bobot, Kampung Menunggui, Kampung Siasai Tamu and others will always be flooded.
“The worst was the floods yesterday and on July 9.
“The kampung residents need to be assured that there are clear efforts being taken by the relevant agencies. Just announcing allocations, if funds are available, that is, is not the way.”
Munirah said it took common sense to fix the situation.
“It is logical to listen to the suggestions from the affected people who have forwarded their concerns to me,” she said.
“No need to wait for allocations. Give competent companies projects to deepen the rivers.
“I’ve learned that there have been contractors appointed to deepen the rivers and rehabilitate areas corroded by the earthquake’s after-effects. But their number is not enough for such an amount of work.
“River deepening concentrates more upstream while it is downstream that is affected. I’d suggest that the contractor appointed be from Kota Belud because he would be knowledgeable about the district.”
Munirah expressed confidence that this could be done provided the departments of irrigation and drainage, environment, land and survey as well as fisheries worked together.
“And the river needs to be realigned to save nearby roads which have been corroded or even disconnected,” she said.
“The iconic Sered Bridge will be useless if the river diverts from it. We shouldn’t neglect certain roads and bridges or else our overlook will be costlier. Small works are usually the ones that save us from unnecessary hardships.
“We should service drains more often so that they can contain floods. We shouldn’t let the whole of Kota Belud be flooded before we do something.
“Flying out slogans like ‘Kota Belud Terbang Tinggi’ (Kota Belud Flying High) will do no good for the victims.”