Left: An artist’s impression of the dam, Right: Dr Janathan
KOTA KINABALU: The people have been urged not to be taken in by a pledge made by Warisan it will resolve Sabah’s long standing water woes within one year if it wins the state election this November 29.
“The party is merely fishing for votes…this is something not achievable,” says Datuk Dr Janathan Kandok, a Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (Gagasan Rakyat) leader.
He was responding to Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal who had said that to resolve the state’s water supply problem within a year would be a top priority for the party as water supply continued to be one of the most pressing daily struggles faced by the people across the state.
“If we are given the mandate, within one year I will resolve the water problem in Sabah,” Shafie who is defending his Senallang seat, said during the launch of Warisan’s election campaign in Tawau last month.
Dr Janathan who is also the Gagasan Rakyat Tandek chief, says Warisan had two years to fix Sabah’s water problem when it was in power from 2018 to 2020.
“But, there was nothing to show a real commitment to resolve the problem and now you are telling the people their taps will never run dry again within one year if you get to rule Sabah again.
“Can you do it? No way. The people are not gullible,”he points out.
According to Dr Janathan, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor’s administration had implemented various initiatives to deal with the water issue – in particular, the Ulu Padas Hydroelectric Project (UPHEP).
The UPHEP in Tenom is scheduled for completion by December 2030.
Meticulously planned, this multi-billion ringgit project, he says, was launched some two years ago with the aim of ensuring long-term water and electricity availability.
The project is proceeding smoothly and is expected to meet the completion deadline.
“This is one major initiative worthy of writing home about,”Dr Janathan says, recalling that the Chief Minister had stated at the launch of the UPHEP that it will resolve Sabah’s water supply issue in the longer term.
Hajiji had also stated that the dam would be able to release up to 6,000 million litres of water daily.
In Kota Kinabalu, the people would only need to use about 500 to 600 million litres of water per day.
And, the UPHEP is also capable of generating an average of 1,052 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean energy annually, hence increasing Sabah’s current dependable capacity by some 15 per cent.
It willl also double the renewable energy (RE) mix, supporting the state’s goal of achieving approximately 35% RE share in its generation mix by 2035.
Meanwhile Dr Janathan makes a passionate plea to Sabahans to vote for continued progress and stability which they had enjoyed in the last five years.
“Please vote wisely,” he adds.
A record-breaking 596 candidates are vying for 73 seats seats at this 17th state election and a total of 22 constituencies will see 10 or more candidates competing.
