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Published: Saturday September 12, 2009 MYT 3:46:00 PM

85,000 people hit by water shortage in Labuan


LABUAN: About 85,000 people in Labuan have been hard hit by water shortage since July, as supply cannot cope with demand, it was revealed Saturday.

People in the city here, as well as 27 villages on the island, are being inconvenienced by water rationing in the day. Water only flows into their taps from midnight for about three or four hours before the supply runs dry.

Labuan is still dependent on water supply from mainland Sabah via an undersea pipeline through the Padas River in Beaufort.

Bernama reported recently that Labuan is expected to only have adequate water supply by the end of 2010, after a RM365 million new undersea water pipeline from Beaufort is fully connected.

Currently, demand for water in Labuan is about 56 million litres a day but supply is only at 42 million litres, a shortfall of 25 percent.

But if one were to take away the 10 million litres needed by Petronas's methanol plant which began operations here this year, there are only 32 million litres left for other consumers on the island, which is also home to the country's integrated international business and financial centre (IBFC). When Federal Territories Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin was asked about the matter here recently, he said: "I will contact Petronas president Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican to discuss how we can help solve the problem. Maybe, Petronas can outsource water supply directly from mainland Sabah."

Raja Nong Chik said various efforts were being made to improve water supply, including the construction of tube wells at several locations in Kampung Tanjung Aru and Kampung Kerupang to tap into Labuan's underground water reserves.

Labuan Water director Sulaiman Kamisan said 16 tube wells were being constructed by Sime Darby Bhd in the project, which began early this month, to produce at least 10 million litres of water daily in about three months.

Raja Nong Chik said the government was also considering "rain harvesting" to enable three existing water dams to function as usual and cater to the needs of consumers on the island.

Two of the three dams Sungai Pagar and Kerupang have gone dry.

Sulaiman said his department had also proposed sea water distillation to ensure sufficient water supply in the long run.

"We have given our proposal to the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water to distill sea water for Labuan's consumption...we hope we can implement it here," he said.

Raja Nong Chik said the proposal was being discussed at the ministerial level although it involved considerable costs and time.

The water woes are also giving a lot of stress to some 4,000 students at two institutions of higher learning here Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMs) and Matriculation College as water supply to their hostels have slowed to a trickle.

They now rely on tankers from the Water Department for additional supplies, just like the rest of the islanders here.

"Not even a drop of water to drink from the pipe, what more to bathe?," asked a UMS student from Sarawak's interior, who wished to be known as Abdul Wahid. "I never thought I would face this kind of problem when I enrolled into UMS early this year. I want to look fresh each time my class starts. Unfortunately, there is no water to bathe, wash my face or even brush my teeth (in my hostel)," he said.

He added: "Labuan is not an isolated place as compared to my area in Sarawak. I am not living in the interior here. Whoever gets up early will have a chance to bathe (before the water runs out). The worst part is that the toilets stink because there is no water to flush."

A staff at the Student Affairs Unit of Matriculation College said there were 2,348 students studying at the college. The majority come from Sarawak and Sabah, with a small number from Peninsular Malaysia.

"Many parents of the students have been calling us, following the water problem in our college but there is nothing much we can do. It is beyond our control. This is an unexpected problem, we have never had this problem before," she said.

Some lecturers had even asked for transfers, citing the water dilemma as their reason for leaving and students had also told the college that they too want to quit.

UMS Senior Assistant Registrar of Students Affairs Zamri Haji Mohd Tuah said there were some 1,900 students currently staying in the UMS hostel.

"What we are worried about now is that the lack of water supply could lead to other diseases. The Health Department is now monitoring the situation, day and night," he said.

A single mother, Jainah Jambul, said the water shortage had given rise to worrying concerns about sanitation risks as the dilemma had forced some people to use the beach and sea as toilets.

However, the greater danger was the outbreak of diseases from such unhygienic practices, she added.

Another Labuan resident, Nurelaine Qistina Sibil Abdullah, who is also distressed over the health hazards, said: "To be able to wash, you need water. No point teaching about sanitation if water is not readily available.

"It's mostly the women who have to wait and get water when the water tankers come. Many of us are tired from the strain of carrying large amounts of water in pails and containers daily."

Labuan MP Datuk Yussof Mahal said the problem was unexpected and the government was not ignoring the problem but doing its best to resolve it.

"We cannot afford to see investors switching to other states just because the island does not have enough water supply.

"The two higher learning institutions are important to us. We do not want parents to stop sending their children to Labuan because of that," he said. - Bernama

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