KUCHING: Padawan Municipal Council (PMC) chairman Lo Khere Chiang yesterday felt slighted by Batu Kawa assemblywoman Christina Chiew’s comment on the water interruption at 10th Mile Bazaar, which he said was impractical and unfair.
Chiew had slammed the council in a Chinese daily on Tuesday for not taking immediate action to resolve the water interruption, which she claimed lasted for three months and had severely affected the business activities of traders and raised health concerns.
“The complaints are not true. The water interruption only occurs occasionally, mainly because of exhausting water supply as some traders like the fishmongers or chicken sellers would let the pipe water run for the whole operation hours,” he explained.
“It is low water supply that caused the interruptions on certain days. The water supply will be insufficient no matter how big the capacity of the water tanks,” he told a press conference after chairing the council’s full meeting at the headquarters yesterday.
As the people’s elected representative, Lo advised Chiew to conduct a more detailed investigation into the problem before creating a scene and making baseless accusations.
“She should also advise the traders not to waste water, taking into consideration the needs of other business operators in the market,” he said.
“I am very disappointed with Christina Chiew’s action when she could have done a more detailed investigation to get to the truth of the situation rather than blowing up the problem and misleading the public.
Lo pointed out that this was not the first time the opposition brought up cases that lacked credence.
“There have been numerous other cases where they just blow it up out of proportion which in turn create more problems for the council,” he said.
“She should have done things in a wise manner. As a people’s representative, she should tell the truth and not make a mountain out of a molehill,” he added.
On the insufficient water at the market, Lo emphasised the need to take stricter action such as suspending or terminating licences if traders could not comply with the rules and regulations and refused to heed warnings.
On the other hand, Lo praised the public for giving feedback and possible solutions that could help the council provide better services to the public.
“I really welcome the public to send messages to the council through our social network channels like WhatsApp, WeChat or email us so we can work together to improve our city,” he said.
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