Sakar islanders request for water supply, aid
Some 2,000 villagers in five villages around Sakar Island has made a heartfelt request to the government and local leaders to look into the lack of development in their areas.
Kampung Look Terusan village head Abdul Razak Halmain said the lack of attention from the government has left them facing various difficulties.
According to Abdul Razak, the need for development in these areas has long been overdue.
He said they are not demanding very much, just to have basic infrastructure with a little touch of development in terms of education.
“We heard about the various development projects that have been implemented on the mainland (Lahad Datu), but we can only hear about it.
“We hope the local leaders will come and look into our difficulties, especially in getting clean water supply, so that they can understand our hardship,” he said.
Abdul Razak, who is also SK Tanjung Paras Parent-Teacher Association chairman, said the school here also needs attention as this is the only school in the area.
He said education is important, and this aspect should be given extra attention as this is where the children from these areas gain knowledge to lead them to a better future.
“We are really grateful to have electricity supply but we had hoped that the change of government will also bring more changes for us,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kampung Tarawakan village head, Hajirin Pait, said, the villagers here are hoping the government will come up with an initiative to develop these areas as a tourism attraction. This idea, Hajirin said, will bring a lot of benefits for the villagers here, who work as fishermen for their source of income.
“With such development, there will be job opportunities that could be filled by the youth from these areas and could increase their income,” he said.
A villager here, Rosmina Ahmad, 43, said clean water supply is the most needed commodity by the villagers here.
Having no clean water supply has forced them to go to the mainland to buy clean water using gallon-size containers for their requirement of 15 gallons per day.
“We are in dire straits during a drought as we needed to do more trips to the mainland to get water for our daily use,” she added.
The villagers here not only need regular water supply but also a bridge to facilitate the children going to school and for the villagers to conduct their daily activities.