Calls to Water Department not answered as old number no longer in service

KOTA KINABALU: The old Water Department careline telephone number is no longer in service and the new one is 088326888.

Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said he frequently received complaints about the Water Department’s unanswered calls.

“It turns out that the unanswered calls are due to the number being no longer in service,” he told the State Assembly on Wednesday.

Shahelmey said Sukau assemblyman Datuk Jafry Ariffin had raised the issue of the standard operating procedures (SOP) for water user complaints.

“In terms of process, when the Sabah State Water Department (JANS) receives complaints through the Careline Incident Report, the Superintending Officer Representative (S.O.R) will instruct the contractor to carry out repair works. These repair works include mobilisation and demobilisation of equipment, site clearing, leak detection and traffic control,” he said.

He added that action should be taken within two hours after the instruction is received by the S.O.R.

“The repair works for various sizes of water pipe damages are subject to weather conditions, following the receipt of complete and orderly complaint or report information, where the implementation period is as follows: repair of pipes with a diameter of 600 mm and below – one day; and repair of pipes exceeding 600mm – two days,” said Shahelmey when winding up his ministry’s speech.

Jafry interjected and asked the minister if the workers at JANS were following the SOP as a complainant had lodged a report before Hari Raya and it was now the 14th day of the celebration and nothing had been done.

“I expected this,” said Shahelmey.

Shahelmey replied that as the minister, he was facing civil servants, whether in departments under his ministry, who are not demonstrating excellent work performance.

“I have directed the directors to ensure that the quality of work by civil servants is enhanced to ensure greater effectiveness and efficiency,” he said.

Shahelmey also replied to the issue raised by Sekong assemblyman Alias Sani regarding the lack of water at the public market, and said the problem arose from a pipe leak.

“In such cases, the repair responsibility falls on the building owner, namely the Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS). The ministry has been informed that MPS is currently undertaking pipe repair works on the premises,” he said.

And as for the issue of water shortage at the Sandakan Airport, he said that according to the Sandakan Water Department, no complaints have been received regarding this matter, but they will pay attention to the issue.

“Apart from the Segaliud Water Treatment Plant Capacity Enhancement Project in Sandakan District, as an alternative measure to ensure continuous water supply for the people of Sandakan District, another ongoing project is the upgrading of the water supply system including main water storage tanks in Sandakan and another project in the procurement process is the “Investigation of Existing Boreholes and Designing for Constructing New Raw Water Sources for the Hilltop and Sibuga Water Treatment Plant.”

He also said the upgrading programme for aged pipes, Sandakan Water Supply System Upgrading Project including storage tanks, is currently in progress.

He added that there are scopes outlined in the project contract, which involve replacing old pipes with new PVC pipes measuring 200 mm in diameter.

“The scope of work will entail replacing old pipes in the Batu 10 area over a stretch of 16km. So far, the appointed contractor has completed 53% of the replacement of new pipes, and once completed, the previously affected areas will receive continuous water supply without interruption.

“Additionally, there is also one maintenance contract allocated for the Sandakan, Kinabatangan and Beluran areas, namely the Maintenance Repair and Routine Maintenance of Water Pipeline at Sandakan, Kinabatangan and Beluran District with a total cost of RM38 million. This contract is currently in progress and commenced on April 15, 2024,” he said.

To address the issue raised by the member for Darau, the areas of Kalansanan and Kg Warisan are among those facing high levels of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) due to unauthorised connections, he said.

“According to records from the Sabah State Water Department, there are a total of 786 registered accounts in both areas, which are located at the end of the water supply system. The water production in both areas amounts to 3.5 MLD (million liters per day), while the water demand is only 0.5 MLD,” he said.

He added that to tackle this issue, enforcement operations to cut off unauthorised connections and issuing fines have been carried out against those who have illegally tapped into the water supply.

Shahelmey also replied to Moyog assemblyman Datuk Darell Leiking, and said there are still two projects that have been approved in the previous Rolling Plan and will be implemented during the 12th Malaysia Plan, namely Rural Water Supply Project for Kg Maang, Kg Limbanak, Kg Sugud, and surrounding areas, Sabah; and

Rural Water Supply Project for Upper Kg Moyog and surrounding areas, Penampang.

“For the information of the honorable member for Moyog and this August House, the Sabah State Water Department has submitted a list of priority projects for the Development of Sabah State Water Supply to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation and the Ministry of Rural Development and Regional Development for consideration and approval in the Fourth Rolling Plan for the year 2025, on Jan 31, 2024,” he said.