KOTA KINABALU: Listening to Gum-Gum assemblyman Zakaria Edris' volley of demands at the recent State Legislative Assembly sitting is telling of the situation in Sabah. He was asking for better enforcement, clean water, electricity, and police and fire stations in his constituency which is barely 45 minutes from Sabah's second largest city, Sandakan.
Rolling off his list of grouses, Zakaria said villagers living along Sungai Memanjang in his constituency were struggling to make ends meet following a steady decline in aqua life in the river as a result of toxic effluence from a neighbouring oil palm mill.
The once "fish-rich" river is now “dead”, he said, adding that complaints to the State Environment Protection Department and the Federal Environment Department have fallen on deaf ears.
"We have highlighted the issues to the two departments but there had been no action. Nothing has been done to stop the mill operators and help the villagers.
"If the mill continues to dump its toxic waste into the river, the ones who will suffer are the locals.
"These villagers depend on the river for their livelihood. The government cannot go on ignoring this It must take immediate action. It must issue a stop order to the mill, " he said.
No water, electricity
Describing clean water as a “basic necessity”, he said several kampungs in his constituency were dependent on well water.
"Many kampungs in my constituency still don't have clean water and electricity... this is a basic necessity. The state government must look into this urgently," he said.
Kampung Ulu Dusun, Kampung Sungai Kapoor, Kamung Jaya Bakti, Kampung Lalason and Kampung Tanjung Pisau are among the villagers which still depend on well water. During the dry spell, the water dries up leaving the villagers without clean water.
Kampung Pulau Libaran and Kampung Pulau Pemaguan have no electricity. The community is dependent on power from a generator. Since the increase in petrol prices, villagers have been unable to afford electricity.
Zakaria has proposed that the state government take urgent action to provide rural villagers with water and electricity.
"I propose that solar energy be introduced in these villagers since petrol is expensive and generators are not practical," he said.
Rising crime
Early last year, a 16-year-old student was raped, brutally murdered and dumped in the nearby forest in the constituency.
The incident sent shockwaves through the constituency which was also riddled with a rising crime rate, said Zakaria.
"We urgently need a police station and a fire station. We don't have any now. The nearest stations are in Sandakan... 45 minutes away.
"This is too far in case of an accident or emergency. A few years ago we had a big fire and the by time the firemen came, 30 houses were burnt down," he said.
Sandakan, on Sabah's east coast, is a known gateway for immigrants. Over the years shantytowns have emerged creatinga whole range of socio-economic problems for the state.
In the recent Batu Sapi by-elections, the 16-year-old Barisan Nasional state government's lack of commitment to infrastructure development came to the fore when opposition candidate Ansari Abdullah twice plunged into the sea after the jetty and bridge he was standing on collapsed.
Early last week, the World Bank Report 2010 reaffirmed a commonly held belief when it reported that Sabah was the “poorest” state in Malaysia and is unlikely to move ahead if current policies do not change.
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