Marudi longhouses face acute clean water shortage — SAM
MARUDI: SahabatAlamMalaysia ( SAM) is calling for attention to the plight of many indigenous communities in Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia who have yet to have access to clean water supply, electricity, sanitation, healthcare, education and transportation facilities.
Its president S. M. Mohamed Idris in a statement yesterday said if Malaysia is really serious about institutional and governance reforms in the country, issues like these must be pursued with great urgency and effectiveness by both the federal and state authorities.
“At a time when the country is undergoing such a historic political transition, Sahabat Alam Malaysia wishes to draw attention to the plight of our indigenous communities who have long been deprived of their rights to basic services.
“In light of this, we would like to raise our concern on the acute clean water shortage faced by more than a thousand residents of the longhouses around the PoyutLubok Nibong in Marudi, Baram. Based on our investigations last month, we discovered that their living conditions are extremely distressing, especially after the long dry spell in mid-March,” said Mohamed Idris.
He added that according to the residents of Poyut, most longhouses there have constructed their own gravity-fed water supply systems sourced from the nearby streams.
“The supply of this river water was originally intended to provide the people with safe, potable water for normal household use.
“However, the people claim that this source of river water has been contaminated by too much pollution, and may no longer be safe for consumption. At the most, it can only be utilised for cleaning purposes.”
Mohamed Idris said that for villages that are located further away from streams, the people have resorted to using water that is sourced from small pools located near their longhouses, which is only suitable for cleaning purposes.
As a result of the long dry spell, he said the water quality of such pools has deteriorated to such an extent that it is no longer possible to even utilise them for cleaning purposes.
He said for clean potable water, the villagers have long been forced to source it from the public tap located at the site of the ‘ tamu’ market in Marudi town or alternatively, from bottled mineral water that must be purchased.
“In the village of Rumah Entawan in Padang Kerbau, the people reported that some families may have to purchase up to 10 boxes of bottled water monthly.
“SAM is also aware that the lack of access to clean water has been an on- going problem faced by many of the longhouses surrounding Marudi for several decades.
“In the past, the people have lodged several complaints to the relevant authorities, including their elected legislators during consultations with community leaders. Unfortunately, all such complaints have not been given their due attention to this day. Any promises that had been made still remain unfulfilled.”
Mohamed Idris said he found it to be ‘ totally unacceptable’ that these villages, which are located within a mere 30 minutes drive from the town of Marudi, have yet to be supplied with a clean water more than five decades after the formation of Malaysia.
“Therefore, SAM would like to urge both the federal and state authorities to prioritise this matter and take the correct action swiftly. Such living condition without access to clean water is indeed a serious and dangerous situation.
“It is also a denial of the basic human right to a safe and comfortable life. SAM would also like to call on the government to come up with an immediate action plan to supply clean water directly from the water plant located in the Marudi town to the affected villages.”