"Rumah panjang kami tiada bekalan elektrik, jalan raya dan bekalan air bersih. Jangan cakap mengenai tangki air 1Malaysia, tong dram 1Malaysia untuk menyimpan air pun kami tidak ada"

MARUDI: Pengguna Jalan Miri-Marudi yang marah dengan keadaan jalan raya tersebut bertindak menanam anak kelapa sawit dalam salah satu lubang yang agak besar kerana menyifatkan jalan tersebut sama standard dengan keadaan tanah di ladang kelapa sawit.

Menurut mereka, jalan berkenaan bukan sahaja berlubang-lubang yang menyukarkan kenderaan melaluinya malah lebih berbahaya ketika musim hujan kerana licin disebabkan tanah becak daripada bahagian jalan yang sudah mulai pecah.

“Keadaan jalan rosak dan berlubang-lubang di sana sini menjadi lebih sukar dilalui sejak beberapa minggu lalu kerana cuaca kerap hujan,” kata seorang pengguna Jalan Miri-Marudi di sini semalam.

“Hujan turun tanpa henti minggu lalu menyebabkan keadaan jalan semakin teruk kerana bukan sahaja lubangnya bertambah besar dan licin, tetapi keadaan sudah sedia pecah menyebabkan tanah hitam pada dasarnya timbul,” katanya sambil menambah keadaan tersebut tidak ubah seperti ketika mula dibina dahulu.

Sehubungan itu, para pengguna jalan itu turut meluahkan kemarahan mereka kepada syarikat yang diberi tanggungjawab terhadap kerja-kerja membaikinya kerana mutu kerja tidak berkualiti.

Justeru, ramai pengadu memohon agar pihak berkuasa bersikap lebih tegas dan mengambil tindakan segera ke atas jalan berkenaan yang tidak ubah seperti ‘lubang kejumah pada batang pokok’.

“Lubang-lubang besar dan kecil kerap kali tidak dapat dielakkan ketika memandu, terutama apabila kenderaan muncul dari kedua-dua arah.

“Ia bukan sahaja berbahaya kepada kami tetapi kereta kami juga berdepan dengan risiko kerosakan,” tambahnya sambil memberitahu ia turut melibatkan kos membaiki yang besar bergantung kepada jenis dan model kenderaan.

Menurut para pemandu, keadaan jalan paling teruk di antara Jambatan Besi Sungai Arang menuju ke Pangkalan Feri Kuala Ridan di sini.

“Ini bukan pembangunan dan jalan raya yang kami bayangkan dan sepatutnya memudahkan laluan kami, sebaliknya seperti menambahkan masalah kami dan menyakitkan hati setiap pemandu kenderaan yang melalui Jalan Miri-Marudi,” ujarnya kesal.

Oleh itu, mereka tidak terkejut atau membantah bila ada pengguna yang marah menanam anak kelapa sawit dalam lubang jalan tersebut kerana menyifatkan standard jalan amat tidak berkualiti.

Menurut pemandu, pembaikan jalan raya tersebut bukan setakat menaburnya dengan batu ‘gravel’ atau tanah liat semata-mata sebaliknya perlu diturapkan semula bagi memastikan ia lebih baik dan kukuh.

“Kontraktor yang bertanggungjawab harus menjalankan tanggungjawab diamanahkan dengan baik untuk pembangunan rakyat apatah lagi mereka sudah pasti dibayar dengan kos yang cukup untuk hasil kerja berkualiti bukan seperti jalan ini,” katanya.-Utusan Borneo

MIRI: Local activist and former Baram District Council councillor Anthony Lawai Karing wants answers as to why the promise of a tar-sealed road made six years ago has yet to be fulfilled by the government.

Anthony, 76, who was a councillor between 1995 and 2005 said villagers of Long San in Ulu Baram were promised the tar-sealed road in 1999 or 2000 but up till now, nothing has been done.

He claimed that some of the villagers gave up their land in the area to give way for the road that would have stretched from Samling Road to SMK Temenggong Datuk Lawai Jau in Long San.

“We have done all the necessary things for the road to be built for the betterment of the community living in Long San.

“We have also filled in the forms from the Land and Survey Department as we gave away our land but until today the road still has not been built,” he lamented.

He further claimed that a tar-sealed road from Kampung Long San to Long Akah Airport in Long San was also promised.

“That too has remained unfulfilled. We want the relevant agency or ministry to come forward and give us answers as to why these projects have taken such a long time to be realised even after the projects were approved,” he questioned.

There are about 800 villagers in Long San, but only half are permanent residents of the longhouse.-Borneo Post

SIBU: Eight families staying behind SJK(C) Sung Sang in Salim Road here have been living without tap water supply for decades, albeit staying just a 10-minute drive from Sibu Water Board.

Sia Kie Kung, 67, said he has been staying there since he was eight years old.

“Every two days, I take 10 minutes to ride to a relative’s house in Salim Road to get water. I have to take four rides just to get enough water for two days,” he said when met yesterday.

He must always be prudent with water to ensure it lasts him over two days.

He has also turned to using rain water, but said it was not fit for consumption lately due to the haze.

“I’ve dug a hole near my house with a pump installed to get underground water for bathing,” he added.

He has two big tanks behind his house – one to store rain water and the other to keep the underground water.

Another resident, 47-year-old Choong Jin Fah, said he had brought up the water plight with the authorities many times, but no action was forthcoming.

“I looked up for the elected people’s representatives, a few of them checked it out but nothing seems to have been done,” he lamented.

Choong, who has been staying there for 32 years, said he had been advised many times over to wait for the budget for a water supply project.

“Just last month, I went to Sibu Water Board, an officer there told me that there is a water supply project next month, I do not know how true, but I’m hoping it will materialise,” he said.

Choong said he and his family currently received water supply by connecting a water pipe from a friend’s house in front of SJK(C) Sung Sang.

Previously, he and his family used to bathe in a nearby river.

Ling Yik King, 69, said when he told friends that there was still no water supply to his house despite staying in the proximity of the Sibu Water Board, his friends did not believe him.

“They thought I was lying,” he said.

Besides water, households there are also hoping the access road to their area can be upgraded.

Meanwhile, when contacted yesterday, Sibu Water Board general manager Dato Alice Jawan Empaling said a proposal for water supply extension to the area concerned had been approved in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development.

“The Sarawak Rural Water Supply Project (reticulation system) Zone 3, Package B (water main extension to Bukit Penyau Road) has been awarded and the contract commenced in September 2015 and is expected to be completed by April 2016 (eight months contract) under supervision of Public Works Department (Sibu regional),” she said.

She said the project estimated at RM1.4 million was divided into three routes – Route A, Route B and Route C.

Route A will benefit seven houses, Route B nine, and Route C eight.

She said as part of government’s efforts to reduce the people’s burden, the cost of communication pipe installation was included in the contract except for capital contribution, deposit and inspection fee.

“The board would like to take this opportunity to thank the residents affected for their patience, and apologise for the inconvenience caused them,” she said.-Borneo Post