adminKOTA KINABALU : A leader from Parti Warisan Penampang Division chided Sabah DAP Chief, Phoong Jin Zhe over his assurance last year that flash flood at Lido will be a thing of the past once the Lido Flood Mitigation Plan is completed.
According to Pritchard Gumbaris who is the Political Secretary for the Deputy President of Warisan, Darell Leiking, the flooding that occurred at KK High School, Lido yesterday (14 January) should had taught Phoong a lesson not to be overly confident but instead to continue monitor the plan and see if further rectification or enhancement is needed.
“The flash flood that occurred at KK High School, Lido yesterday (14 January) after an hour heavy rainfall is the reminiscence of the flash flood affecting housings around Lido, Lido Market and Taman Teck Guan Villa on November 2024.
So even if the mitigation plan at Lido is 100% fully completed, one should not brag about it but to instead continue monitoring its effectiveness over a period of time and make further ehancement if necessary.
We do not know the actual reason for the flooding but perhaps this could be the over-zealousness on the part of GRS and PH to prove that development is taking places in Kota Kinabalu and Penampang to the extent that they disregard mitigative plans in the development plans approved.
This is not the first time flooding occurred in Penampang and this is also not the first time both GRS and PH gave their assurances to the people their flood mitigation plan but the question now begets why the monsoon drains (more commonly referred to by the locals as ‘Parit Juta’) were never cleaned regularly?
There has to be a relook to the contracts given to the contractors appointed to maintain these monsoon drains so I believe Warisan’s state assemblymen will bring the matter to the upcoming State Assembly because this is a public interest that require immediate action,” he stated in a statement today.
Pritchard also queried why nothing had been done with the precast concretes and heap of soils in front of Donggongon Petronas Station that were being left alongside the pedestrian walkway for several months now.
“Several Penampang folks have told me that these huge precast concretes and heap of soils is such an eyesore and could end up being washed into the Parit Juta causing unnecessary blockage.
And if blockage happened, overflowed water from this drain will cause flooding to Donggongon Town and I find it amusing when PBS Headquarters and DAP Penampang branch that are situated directly opposite to this drain oblivious on this matter and as part of the rulling Government, they can actually request these ugly sights being cleared.
So, I expect the GRS/PH representatives who sits in the Penampang District Action Committee or as Councilors of Penampang Municipal Council who enjoy their allowances from the taxpayers’ monies to stop warming the chairs and to go to the ground to inspect this drain and other drainage system in Penampang as well.
As for Warisan Penampang, our Unit Pemantau Daerah (UPD) visits’ to the Penampang Municipal Council and the State’s Ministry of Infrastructure have allowed us to come out with a blueprint to overcome the perennial flooding issue in Penampang but obviously we need to be in the Government because the success of our blueprint will require coordination and teamwork with State governmental bodies,” he concluded.
