Rep upset by ‘waste of money’ remark on Marudi Waterfront project
MIRI: Democratic Action Party ( DAP) Baram branch chairman Hii Ngie Siing has been slammed for describing the Marudi Waterfront project as ‘a waste of money’.
Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil, who is Marudi assemblyman, expresses his disappointment over Hii’s statement, adding that the DAP man chooses to ‘ point fingers’ instead of helping to develop the project, which has been the wish of many constituents for a long time.
“I have been doing my very best to build a waterfront in Marudi – of all the towns in Sarawak, only Marudi has yet to have its own waterfront. So, one of my missions after I was elected ( people’s representative) was to get a waterfront for Marudi.
“Unfortunately, when I did that, the DAP viewed the project as a waste of money,” he spoke during a dinner hosted by the Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB), held in conjunction with its inaugural sports carnival here recently.
In a news report published on a local Chinese daily on Saturday, Hii was quoted as saying that the waterfront project was a waste of money as it involved millions of ringgit.
Hii also claimed that because of the construction, the natural view of the town would be spoilt.
In this respect, he urged Penguang to look into the matter and stop wasting money for the waterfront project.
On this, Penguang said with respect to all the development projects that had been or are being undertaken by him, there had been those who always tried to find fault with him.
“They ( DAP) just express what they want because they want to be popular. But if we tell them to do the work, they would not know,” he stressed.
“When they say this ( thing), the victims would be the people of Marudi, as these people are the ones who need these projects – those from outside can just voice out their opinions by saying that they do not need these ( projects); that they are a waste of money.
“So, we are under scrutiny by this group of people who are only looking for trouble and faults, yet they do not know how to help – they are only good in criticising.”
Penguang said it was the same situation during the construction of the Miri-Marudi Road.
“Almost every day, there were people who swore at me, despite my sole intention to help my constituents. Now that the road is good, nobody says thank you,” he said, acknowledging that JBALB Miri is also facing a similar situation.
On this, he commented: “I hope when we do our job, we would do it with the utmost commitment and persistence, especially in providing treated water supply to the rural areas. I hope you (JBALB) will continue to choose good contractors to do good jobs.”
Penguang also hoped that JBALB Miri would continue to do careful planning so that every rural village, including those in the remotest of areas, would have treated water supply in the near future.
“With the vision of highperformance organisation providing safe and reliable water supply in Sarawak as well as its commitment to supporting development and enhancing communities’ quality of life through effective project delivery and excellence in operations, you have a very heavy responsibility to carry out – not only in Marudi, but also all of Miri,” he added.
Meanwhile, more than 90 JBALB staff members took part in the sports carnival, run by JBALB Miri Sports and Recreation Club ( Ruwas).
They were divided into four teams – Ruwas Hijau, Ruwas Biru, Ruwas Kuning and Ruwas Merah – and competed in various games such as carrom, dart, futsal, badminton and bowling.
Ruwas Merah emerged the overall champion.