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Wong (10th right) and others are seen while paying a Gawai visit on Tuai Rumah Monica Gelima Ubong (front fourth left).
SIBU (June 3): The Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication has been asked to address the serious water shortage issue faced by communities in Ulu Sungai Assan and Ulu Naman areas here.
Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) deputy chairman Wong Ching Yong noted the issue has plagued residents there for the past three years and affected their celebrations.
“Therefore, after Gawai Dayak Festival, I will also send a letter to Datuk Julaihi Narawi, the Minister of Utility (and Telecommunication) Sarawak, hoping to improve the serious water shortage problem in Ulu Sungai Assan and Ulu Naman, which had brought hardship to the residents for three years. And I hope that it can be resolved as soon as possible,” Wong said in a statement today.
He said although many longhouses now had tar sealed roads, as well as water and electricity supply, there were still longhouses, especially in Ulu Sungai Assan that have suffered from insufficient water pressure since 2020 caused by construction of the Pan Borneo Highway.
“For the last three years, be it Gawai Dayak, Christmas, and other festivals, they were facing serious water shortages. Many longhouse folk have complained to me that one could not imagine (conditions) without water. They could not cook, wash clothes, and shower.
“This Gawai Dayak Festival, to them, was, to say the least, quite miserable. Last year, the Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) sent water trucks to deliver water, so it was still possible to celebrate the festival. The water shortage was particularly serious this year,” he said.
Wong said he had received requests for water supply from Ulu Sungai Assan one week before the Gawai Dayak Festival.
This year, residents of Ulu Naman also called on him to request JBALB supply water.
“From the response of the longhouse today, it seemed that the water supply problem in the Dudong area is very serious. One tuai rumah told me that they had to buy mineral water to cook and wash dishes. The bottled mineral water was used to wipe their bodies as the weather was unbearably hot,” added Wong, who is also Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Dudong chairman.
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