Urgent meeting to discuss heatwave today

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Water Council has scheduled an urgent meeting for today to discuss the heatwave engulfing most parts of the state, which has also led to Papar district being declared a drought disaster area.

Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said the meeting, which he will chair, is important as the situation has hit the state hard with river levels dropping between 10 to 40 per cent, causing water supply issues.

“All agencies and departments under the State Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Ministry (MAFFI) are requested to provide their latest reports,” he told reporters after witnessing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing between MAFFI and Shaanxi Construction Engineering (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for a flood mitigation-related project here on Friday.

Jeffrey, who is also the State Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister said several districts such as Papar and Tambunan have been adversely affected by the dry spell, especially padi fields as their water sources primarily rely on rivers.

“For the time being, even though the effect is not too serious, the meeting tomorrow would address recommendations to deal with this situation and also on additional financial needs,” he said.

Jeffrey added Sabah cannot run away from constructing dams either for hydro or for water.

“Among the dams we need are at the river edge to catch the water because during drought, we will need to use the water. Dams are among the solutions,” he said.

On state assistance to farmers, he said they will also discuss this matter in the meeting.

“That’s why we want to have an assessment first. But for sure, if they were affected, then we will discuss the recommendation for assistance, including financial needs,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey said the Sabah government is planning to expand padi farming from 24,000 hectares to 30,000 hectares this year, thus reducing the state’s reliance on rice imports.

He said this would help Sabah save hundreds of millions of ringgit and ensure food security in the state.

“The MoU with Shaanxi Construction Engineering today can help us to accomplish what we wanted but could not implement due to lack of funding,” he said.