INTERIOR LACK OF CLEAN WATER SUPPLY

By: SABAH DAP INTERIOR

SABAH DAP interior mobile service team came across many rural community problems facing the rural population in the interior, among the critical problems were inadequate clean water supply, poor sanitation conditions and the use of old, gravity flow water system that contributed to illness and disease.

They had observed that many rural folks were getting sick due to drinking unclean, unsafe, contaminated water during this critical weather conditions in the rural areas.

Dr Benjamin Yapp, Sabah DAP Parliamentary Liaison Chief for Keningau and Tenom advised the rural communities to stay healthy by drinking clean, boiled water as there were cases of rural folks getting sick with diarrhea and other infectious diseases transmitted by the faeco-oral route, particularly with the poor gravity flow water system at the rural areas such as Melalap and Kemabong in Tenom.

Water supply is a critical determinant for communities living in the rural areas. Dr Benjamin observed that generally the rural communities were susceptible to illness and other chronic diseases related to a large extent to inadequate water supplies, poor sanitation and poor hygiene.

Adequate water supply for remote areas is an urgent need to reduce the transmission of faeco-oral diseases and exposure to disease-bearing vectors through the promotion of safe drinking water and the reduction of environmental health risks in the rural areas said Dr Benjamin Yapp who is also Sabah DAP State Rural development Bureau Chief.

In the interior, lack of adequate, clean drinking water has become a reality for the rural communities, in additional to hardships and poverty problems facing many rural folks. The hardcore poor and poor rural folks were lack of proper food and nutritions for their children as many could not afford to buy the basic food and commodities due to the recent drastic hikes in fuel, sugar and other commodities that triggered the increases in transport fares, maintenance, repairs and services as well as labour charges.

Sabah DAP interior Mobile service team witnessed the bad economic situations and hardships of the rural folks.

Sabah would never be able to regain progress and prosperity if the situations prevailed in the rural areas without any basic infrastructure development over the years.

Just look at the poor health system in the rural areas, particularly at certain sub-districts such as Pagalungan sub-district that was high-lighted in the Daily Express dated January 15, 2011. The situations were so bad that the poor rural folks had to take a day's boat ride just to reach the rural clinic to seek for medical treatment.

There were many sick rural helpless old dying folks who could never manage to travel such a long, tedious journey by boat across the river in such a situation. The Government had announced the Billion of Ringgit for rural infrastructure development in the 9th Malaysia plan, but now it seems that there had not been any improvement in the rural areas.

Sabah DAP urged the Government to look seriously into the grave problems and plights of the rural communities and hoped that the water supply system be improved along with the rural basic infrastructures without further delay.