He was responding to questions
raised by Dato Idris Buang (BN-Muara Tuang) on what steps had been taken
by the government to tackle the drainage problems in a few traditional
villages within Muara Tuang and other parts of Sarawak.
Penguang pointed out that drainage improvement works for traditional villages is a challenge for local councils.
“Based on the experiences with DBKU and MBKS, councils face various issues such as the low-lying profile of traditional villages that get affected by King Tide as well as getting consent from individual traditional village dwellers. There is also limited space available to construct these drains.
“At the same time, the ministry will activate the Divisional Urban Drainage Committee headed by DID, which will include Public Works Department (JKR), Land and Survey Department, district offices, local authorities and other relevant agencies.
“This committee will enhance coordination in addressing flood issues in all divisions of Sarawak,” he said.
To a supplementary question on the timeframe to know the first result of the lab, Penguang said flood mitigation initiative is a continuous one that has no time limit.
Idris also asked whether the ministry was getting funding assistance from the federal government, to which Penguang said both federal and state governments had been helpful in providing assistance.
“The federal and state governments have always been helpful in funding for flood mitigation and DID projects.
“For example, under the First Rolling Plan, RM350 million have been approved for Kuching, Samarahan, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu and Limbing.
“At the same time, the local councils will bid for funds to tackle flash flooding and river flooding of traditional villages.
“The total sum will normally be around RM2 to RM3 billion for Sarawak,” he explained.
Penguang pointed out that drainage improvement works for traditional villages is a challenge for local councils.
“Based on the experiences with DBKU and MBKS, councils face various issues such as the low-lying profile of traditional villages that get affected by King Tide as well as getting consent from individual traditional village dwellers. There is also limited space available to construct these drains.
“At the same time, the ministry will activate the Divisional Urban Drainage Committee headed by DID, which will include Public Works Department (JKR), Land and Survey Department, district offices, local authorities and other relevant agencies.
“This committee will enhance coordination in addressing flood issues in all divisions of Sarawak,” he said.
To a supplementary question on the timeframe to know the first result of the lab, Penguang said flood mitigation initiative is a continuous one that has no time limit.
Idris also asked whether the ministry was getting funding assistance from the federal government, to which Penguang said both federal and state governments had been helpful in providing assistance.
“The federal and state governments have always been helpful in funding for flood mitigation and DID projects.
“For example, under the First Rolling Plan, RM350 million have been approved for Kuching, Samarahan, Sibu, Miri, Bintulu and Limbing.
“At the same time, the local councils will bid for funds to tackle flash flooding and river flooding of traditional villages.
“The total sum will normally be around RM2 to RM3 billion for Sarawak,” he explained.
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