Sibu: More than a hundred households in Sibu’s Eco Garden area have been struggling with a severe water shortage for the past two to three weeks, with the supply yet to return to normal.
DAP Dudong Baru Branch Chairman Stanley Chiew has condemned the Sarawak Water Central Region for what he described as a “total failure in crisis response and management” amid the ongoing disruption.
Chiew said residents had repeatedly sought help from the agency since the shortage began, but their complaints went unanswered – even the official hotline was often unresponsive.
He noted that it was only after Lanang MP Alice Lau publicly raised the issue last Thursday that the agency dispatched water tankers to the affected area.
“The department later explained that the low pressure in Eco Garden was due to an abnormal water draw from the Sibu Hospital connection point.
“For residents, such explanations are already meaningless. What matters now is immediate action to resolve the issue. It’s been nearly three weeks, and water supply has yet to be restored. Any excuses at this stage are of no help to the affected households,” he said.
He also questioned the agency’s capacity to handle larger-scale crises, saying, “If the Water Board can’t even resolve a single area’s water crisis properly, how can it possibly manage when multiple areas face similar emergencies at the same time?”
Chiew acknowledged that technical repairs may take time, but stressed that deploying water tankers should be the most basic and immediate emergency response.
However, he said the agency’s efforts have been “slow, inefficient, and inadequate.”
“Residents have gone more than two weeks without water, and their daily lives are severely affected – bathing, washing, cooking, and even flushing toilets have become major problems,” he said.
“Water is the most fundamental necessity of life. It has been nearly three weeks since the supply was cut off, and residents are already living in distress.
“If Sarawak Water Central Region continues to linger at the stage of apologising and explaining instead of taking real action, then its inefficiency and failure of public service are undeniable facts,” Chiew added.
