THE issue of last Saturday’s floods in Kuching and the surrounding areas has become a political football for DAP and the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), with the former pinning the blame for it on its political rival.  

SUPP is one of the four parties that make up the state’s ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition. 

Even though DAP and GPS are together in the federal unity government, the former is an opposition party in Sarawak. 

The blame game started when Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii asked questions on what happened to the RM150 million flood mitigation project the federal government was supposed to fund. 

The funds for the mitigation project, officially known as Pembangunan Lembangan Sungai Bersepadu Sungai Sarawak, were released at the end of 2018 by Xavier Jayakumar, the then minister of water, land and natural resources in the Pakatan Harapan administration under former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

Yii said the tendering process and appointment of contractors should have been finalised by November 2019. 

The physical construction of the project, the two-term MP added, was supposed to start in 2021 and was scheduled to be completed in 2025. 

When he raised the issue in the Dewan Rakyat, he was told the project was delayed as the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Sarawak (DID) had only put forth the “sitting application” for land acquisition to the Land and Survey Department of Sarawak on December 29, 2021. 

He was also told DID discussed the acquisition of the federal government quarters near the Kuching airport with the Sarawak Federal Secretary Office on January 4 last year, and there was a meeting on January 21 to discuss the acquisition of land in nine locations needed for the project. 

Yii said DID, through the Sarawak government, had put forth an appeal to the Land and Survey Department on January 10 last year to expedite the “sitting application” due to the urgency of the project and the need to address increasing occurrences of flash floods in Kuching. 

But it was only in December that DID received approval from the State Planning Authority for the nine project locations, he added. 

Yii said the delay meant the project was now expected to be completed in 2028, adding that physical construction would only start next year. 

Kuching South mayor Wee Hong Seng, who ran an unsuccessful campaign in the recent general election against DAP state chairman Chong Chieng Jen, blamed the delay “on some political issues”. 

Chong responded, saying “the horrific flood” was “a sign of failure on the part of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage and municipal councils in the management of the drainage system in Kuching city.” 

The local councils he referred to were the Kuching South city council, Padawan municipal council, and Kota Samarahan municipal council. 

The Kuching North city commission, which administered the other half of the city, is under the purview of the Premier of Sarawak’s Office. 

The DID and local councils all fall under Deputy Premier Dr Sim Kui Hian’s Local Government Ministry. 

Chong urged Dr Sim to be “more hands on, responsible, and accountable” for the portfolios he oversaw. 

He said if Dr Sim found them too hard to handle, “then don’t hold so many portfolios”. 

“Let other more capable persons hold the post and do the job,” he added. 

Wee retorted to the taunts by telling DAP not to point fingers whenever the chance arose. 

He said DAP should “speak according to its conscience”. 

Dr Sim then said more delays could be expected as the notice of change to the original proposal had been submitted by the state to the federal government. 

This prompted Premier Abang Johari Openg to say the state might take over the project completely as Sarawak could no longer rely on the federal government for financial assistance. 

Drastic increase in rainfall 

Last Saturday’s flooding, coupled with a smaller one earlier last week, triggered one of the worst flash floods Kuching had seen in the last two years. 

Dr Sim said the original project proposal had to be amended to take into account the drastic increase in rainfall brought about by climate change. 

The amount of rainfall recorded in the first three months of this year was 20% higher than the corresponding period last year. 

The rain that fell last Saturday was unusually heavy with 227mm recorded to have fallen in the Maung section of the city. 

That was nearly six times more rain than the 39.6mm of average rain that fell on the previous day. 

Nearly a dozen areas of the city recorded rainfall in three-digit figures according to data obtained from the DID, the Meteorological Department, and timeanddate.com. 

As nothing serious was reported in earlier “severe” weather warnings, Kuching folk took lightly the warning for March 18 until they were left stranded by the roadside or sitting on the roof of their stalled cars while waiting for help to arrive. 

Most major roads were inundated. The newly opened flyover at the Kota Sentosa bazaar became a giant water slide. 

The city’s storm drains reportedly could not cope with the large amount of water that fell in such a short period of time. 

The rain that fell between 8am and 11am did the most damage, according to data shared by Wee. – March 25, 2023.