Water woes at UMS set to be resolved by mid July

KOTA KINABALU: The ongoing water supply issues affecting Universiti Malaysia Sabah are expected to be resolved by next month.

UMS board of directors chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan said he had received the commitment of the state government regarding the matter, one that began in 2020 and has only worsened in the past two years.

He said this when asked by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir to explain the issue to the students during the “In Person with Doc Zam” session at UMS chancellory hall.

“As a minister, I go on visits to see the situation in universities and so on, to receive briefings related to the development of the university.

“Earlier, in a session with the students, we were able to interact well.

“Among the questions raised were, among others, problems faced by the university itself, such as the water supply issue,” said Zambry.

Rahman said the water supply to UMS and the northern part of Kota Kinabalu comes from the Telibong Water Treatment Plant in Tuaran.

“There are two treatment plants there… one has been operating for quite some time, and the second one has been fully completed and is operational,” he said.

However, he said the problem lies in the connection from the new water treatment plant which can supply an additional capacity of 80 million litres per day.

It cannot be channelled to the northern part of Kota Kinabalu, including UMS, because the pipe connection has not been completed yet, he added.

Rahman said they had been informed by the authorities that the installation of the 20km-long pipeline was ongoing, with another 2km to go before it reaches UMS.

“We’ve been given an assurance that this final connection will be completed by mid July.

“Hopefully, the water issue at UMS will finally be resolved, God willing,” he said.

Also present was UMS vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Kasim Md Mansur.

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