KOTA KINABALU : Both the
opposition Pakatan Rakyat winning candidates wasted no time in sounding out to
Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir that they wished to work with City Hall in solving
the problems facing ratepayers.
Nevertheless, they
acknowledged that City Hall also needs to be proactive while noting that the
cooperation of other government agencies was also needed.
New Wakil Rakyat for Api Api
Christina Liew called at Abidin's office, Tuesday, with a Seven-Point
Memorandum on Issues Affecting the City.
Top on her list was for DBKK
to put in place an improved drainage system in and around the city as a
permanent solution to the perennial problem of flash floods each time there is
a downpour.
Liew said rate payers voiced
concern over this longstanding problem during the recent election campaign. The
rest were:
- To seriously look into
landslides as a result of hill-cutting activity due to inappropriate planning
in some of the future Development Plans. (Houseowners opposite All Saints'
School are worried of an imminent landslide due to erosion, probably due to
poor development planning in the past).
- Ease traffic congestion in
and around the city
- Provide more parking
spaces and end to special privileges to VIPs where parking is concerned. (There
is a hotel in town where several parking lots outside its premises are for the
use of VIPs).
- Refrain from approving
future development plans in high risk areas
- To upgrade the
beautification programme
- To upgrade the hawker's
stalls
In response, Abidin told
Liew, who led a five-member delegation, that DBKK (City Hall) has short and
long-term measures to beat flooding in areas around the city.
"At the end of the day,
irrespective of who the elected representative is, it is the people that they
serve," he said.
He said that there are
outstanding issues for the past 15 years.
For instance, the road
upgrading from Inanam to Telipok has yet to be completed and this has caused
the population in Inanam to suffer traffic jams on a daily basis.
The situation also has
spilled beyond the constituency to Kota Kinabalu, he said, adding he would be
meeting with City Hall to discuss how best to resolve the problem.
The incomplete drainage
project also has contributed to the traffic flow in addition to the growing
number of vehicles and transport on the road.
Dr Chia said among his main
focuses is the people in Inanam's rural areas.
"During campaigning, I
visited more than 30 villages that have road infrastructure that are really in
dilapidated condition that only four-wheel-drive vehicles could access.
The conditions of the road,
he said, do not do them justice and because of it, their livelihood is dampened
because they are hampered from bringing out their farm or orchard produce to
town.
If the roads are maintained
in good condition, it would enhance the people's social status, he said. He
would also strive to bring treated water to the people in these areas.
"Most of the people
there rely on non-treated spring water which may cause health hazards to
them," said the medical doctor.
Dr Chia said there is also a
lot of tourism potential that could be tapped in order to enhance the
livelihood of the people.
The view from Kg Kokol and
Telipok hills, he said, can be turned into a tourism product and in the
process, giving opportunity to the people to set up homestays.
He said that since
ecotourism is an important income earner to Sabah, the private sector should
bring tourists to Inanam, Menggatal and Telipok and set up smart partnerships
with the rural folk to create a win-win situation for both sides.
Dr Chia also dismissed the
remark by Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee
that he (Chia) is a greenhorn who does not know anything about Inanam as not
requiring his attention.
"The people gave me the
mandate to become an elected representative, so, my concern is to serve
them," he said.
"My primary objective
is to go down to the ground and hear the grouses of the people and forward them
to the relevant authorities." (DE)
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