Kota Kinabalu, Sunday, 20 June, 2021
The flood gate and pump visited by MP for Kota Kinabalu, Chan Foong Hin, yesterday serve the Dah Yeh Villa/Damai/Likas Park/Likas Jaya and adjoining areas which were not flooded during the downpour of heavy rains two days ago. The sudden rise of water levels along Jalan Tuaran was due to localised backlog of rain water. But the overall flood mitigation system, including the Likas flood gates and pumps, built in 1988, are still working reasonably well.
I have confirmed with the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) that the gates and pumps at Likas are in good working order. I last visited the facilities in June 2020 during the last floods at Penampang.
The people of Kota Kinabalu thank the MP, Chan Foong Hin, for visiting the gate and pumps but he went to the wrong place. He also wrongly implicated that the DID was not doing its work in upkeeping the gate and pumps. He implied that it was the failure of DID to maintain the gates and pumps that caused the floods. Such erroneous statements are grossly unfair to the hardworking staff of DID who keep a round the clock watch at the gate and pumphouse.
In fact, the flooded areas were in Kg. Likas, further to the North of the Likas flood basin. Although the name is Kg. Likas, that area has been located within the parliamentary constituency of Sepanggar (previously Gaya). That area is no longer a part of the parliamentary constituency of Kota Kinabalu ever since 1999.
I urge our elected representatives to know their areas well so that they do not pay attention to the wrong areas and make wrong statements that embarrass themselves.
In July 2019, similarly, the DAP representative for Likas constituency, Tan Lee Fatt, had mistaken that a land encroachment by a land grab group abusing the name of the TYT (Head of State) at Kurol Melangi was in his Likas constituency. In fact, Kurol Melangi is located within the Kampung Likas in the state constituency of Karambunai, not Likas. The land grab leaders had put up Parti Warisan flags at the site in Murol Melangi.
Datuk Yong Teck Lee
Ex-Assemblyman for Likas (1985-2002)
Ex-MP for Gaya (1999-2002)