KOTA KINABALU: Seven years ago politicians from Democratic Action Party (DAP) hit out at the Sandakan Municipal Council and Barisan Nasional (BN) administration for failing to resolve the landslide at Phase 3 Taman Indah Jaya in Sandakan while they were still in the Opposition.
Local DAP leaders comprising of then member of parliament, the late Stephen Wong, George Hiew, Calvin Chong and Frankie Poon , met with residents . The politicians demanded the Sabah BN government’s full attention to the issue.
After the visit, a press statement was issued to expressed their disappointment claiming nothing was done by the Sandakan Municipal Council, then elected representatives and State Government, resulting in the affected residents living in fear. This was in 2013.
In August 2018 almost three months after wresting power from BN, Sabah Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing George Hiew who has since crossed over to Warisan, Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong, several other DAP leaders and then Sandakan Municipal Council top guns met with the residents again.
They brought good news and probably many residents were able to sleep soundly after so many years following the latest visit by the politicians and top local authorities officials from the new Sabah State Government.
The residents, whose houses are located near the foothill bordering Kebun Cina, were informed the landslide problem would be resolved by the end of 2018, which was almost four months from the date of the visit and everyone was relieved.
To the dismay of the affected residents, it has been two years now and nothing has been done to address the landslide problem by the Warisan led State Government as what was promised during the visit by the assistant minister, DAP elected representatives and local administrative head.
When they were in the Opposition they lambasted the BN State Government for not doing anything, we were grateful because they were voicing it out for us, a resident who wished to be known as Mr Chong said.
Much to the disappointment of everyone, after they came into power they too did nothing despite telling us the problem would be resolved, he added.
“It appears to us that talk is cheap. These politicians are like the idiom – Empty vessel makes the most noise,” Chong said.
He hoped these same politicians would not come to their neighbourhood with yet another round of “sweet promises” to resolve the landslide during the upcoming election campaign as residents would not buy their “empty talk”.
Until the day when the landslide problem is resolved, residents of Phase Three Taman Indah Jaya continue to live in fear of “the big one.”-pr/BNN
