Sibu: Lanang MP Alice Lau Kiong Yieng has called on the Sarawak Government to take immediate action over recurring large-scale water disruptions in Sibu, describing the situation as “unreasonable” and “a blatant disregard of public welfare.”
Lau strongly condemned the Central Region Sarawak Water Supply Company for what she described as its delayed response and negligence in addressing the prolonged water shortages affecting residents.
She revealed that her office had received multiple complaints from ECO Garden residents, some of whom had endured low water pressure or no water supply for more than five consecutive days.
“Water is a basic necessity of life. How can a residential community be left without water for several days? What’s even more unacceptable is that the authorities have not taken proactive steps to identify the cause and resolve the issue,” she said in a statement.
Residents, she added, had lodged numerous complaints to the water board but were only told to “wait.” No emergency water tankers were deployed to the affected areas, further compounding their hardship.
Lau also criticised the water company for asking her service centre staff to submit water bills and contact numbers of complainants before dispatching water tankers.
“Hundreds of residents are facing shortages. Must every household submit their water bills before receiving emergency water? The company should automatically mobilise tankers once complaints are received,” she argued.
She emphasized that, as a public service agency, the water company should identify problems early, take swift action, and ensure that residents’ needs are met – rather than waiting for intervention from elected representatives and public outcry.
“I strongly call on the Sarawak Water Supply Company (Central Region) to immediately dispatch sufficient water tankers to ECO Garden and all other affected areas. At the same time, an effective emergency mechanism must be established to prevent such incidents from recurring,” she said.
Lau also urged the Sarawak Government to expedite the replacement or relocation of Sibu’s main water pipes, warning that repeated disruptions this year have seriously affected livelihoods.
“This concerns the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of Sibu residents. The Sarawak Government must act immediately. People pay their bills not to be told to wait, but to be assured of a reliable water supply,” she said, adding that she will continue to monitor the situation closely.
