KOTA KINABALU: Sabah UMNO Election Director Jeffrey Nor has expressed his disappointment and dissatisfaction with the State Minister of Works’ response to the demonstration by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students regarding the water problem in front of the Chief Minister’s office building on Friday.
He finds the minister’s reasons regarding the water issue at UMS to be completely unreasonable.
Jeffrey highlighted that the Prime Minister approved an allocation of RM3 million on 31.5.2023 to address the water problem at UMS.
However, on 10.1.2024, Datuk Ir Shahelmey Yahya (Minister) stated that the Telibong 2 water treatment plant was completed in December 2023, and the final installation of pipes is expected to be completed by the end of January 2024.
In a statement today, the minister also mentioned challenges such as water theft and vandalism of the network and pipe system.
As the Minister of Works of the GRS government, Jeffrey believes that the Minister should clarify to the demonstrators why the main pipeline work is still incomplete despite the expected completion by the end of January and what steps have been taken to address the issues of vandalism and water theft.
Jeffrey emphasised that despite the minister’s statements claiming that the clean water issue in Sabah has been resolved, the situation remains unsatisfactory.
He questioned the minister’s decision to label the demonstrators as seeking media attention and engaging in political demonstrations instead of addressing the concerns of UMS students and the people of Sabah.
Jeffrey stressed the importance of respecting the students and their right to attention regarding the challenges they are facing.
