This morning, the flooding condition in Sibu eased off, much to the relief of Sibuians who had undergone stress in the past two days.Subsiding is soothing, but the havoc leaves the flooded areas defaced with mud and debris, making an otherwise clean town filthy.
Now the nature has called it off, albeit only for the time being, it leaves much for us to ponder about and concern with - our accountability, ostrich mentality and carefree attitude ( tidak apa lah! ) !
Sibu is our dear hometown and we are all sentimentally tied to it. We are all part of it and, therefore, it is only natural for us to show our love for it, hoping to better Sibu through our humble concern!
If we all take concerns with negative attitude, then our ostrich mentality would bog Sibu down and take it to no greater height.
In terms of scale, the flooding this time was more serious than the hit in Dec. 1983. At the junction of Jalan Kg. Nyabor and Jalan Central, the knee-height water level has not changed. But, after the attack in 1983, the junction was tar-refilled to one foot higher. This implies that the flooding this time hit a new height!
According to our meteorological forecast, Sibu may be swamped again in a few days' time. We are appreciative for this timely warning.
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7 comments:
Perhaps the authorities should constantly breathe down the necks of those in government service, and weed out the useless ones (Sadly, a lot of politics involved here too!) JKR literally stands for Jangan Kerja Rajin (Don't work hard!). Look at the airport junction...; hasn't it been over a year? Near JPJ, opposite the petrol station, they've blocked one side of the road for some roadworks...causing massive traffic jams! A big sign says, "MAN at work," but if u look, there isn't even ONE man working! For one thing, shouldn't we finish one piece of work first before starting another???
BTW, Tony, u think tar-refilling is the answer! They have done that quite often each time there was a major flood...and somebody commented that it that went on, pretty soon the roads would be above everybody's heads. Just look at Jalan Delta. The road was ok...but the houses were all swimming in the water. Perhaps they should look at the drainage, the construction of bigger and deeper monsoon drains (but knowing SIBU people, they wouldn't let the authorities take one bit of their land for the benefit of all!), better planning in the construction of housing estates and so on.
>after the attack in 1983, the junction was tar-refilled to one foot higher. This implies that the flooding this time hit a new height!
it would not be true if Sibu has sank for more than 1 foot in the past 20 years. This would likely be the case
what is the real problem? the problem is we lived in a place that is not supposed to be our home. in america, people live under the water of new orleans. this is against the rule of nature. nature just came and simply kick you out.
the smartest suggestion is to move away from sibu and declare sibu a ghost town. new sibu should be built. only then the problem can be solved for once.
It is more likely that our mighty Rajang River's bed has been silted up higher by more than one foot by sediment.
Singapore did it in ten years' time to clean up the toxic Singapore River. Lee Kuan Yew in his mission statement in 1978 called on Singaporeans to work together to better the river, and he succeeded within the time frame set down.
We have talked about dredging our lovely Rajang River for a few years already, but a concrete action is yet to be forthcoming.
While Sibu is situated in a low land, remember there are 44 years of chances to rectify the situation. None of the chances are used to the fullest. Instead, the situation becomes worst. Pak Lah is sleeping. Barisan Nasional is sleeping. Barisan Nasional supporters are sleeping. We are just so contented with what much or little we have. In fact God blesses us so much that we are so contented. We think that God will continue to bless us and that He would not send catastrophe our way. God loves us so why should He makes our lives miserable ? Supposing if one day He thinks that we are too contented. Then will we blame Him ? Or are we to think that only Satan will send catastrophe ? It is high time for people in flood prone areas in Sibu, Johore, Kelantan, Pahang and elsewhere to get ready materials for making something that can float you to safe places and store food.
Don't be too hard on Barisan Nasional. Some of the Barisan Nasional politicians and supporters genuinely want to help. But you all must remember they have to answer to their big bosses up there. You don't want them to be punched black blue in the face, do you ? If the big bosses think that Sibu is not important at all, of course, they would not dump all the sextillion ringgits into Sibu town Sarawak. It would be a stupid thing to do. That is why our local leaders have to come up with some grandiose ideas like Miss Tourism so that when it comes to begging for the Ringgit Malaysia, their reasons are justifiable. Moreover, many of our local Yang Berhormat are bachelors. We do want them to have a family and multiply. So we have to face the fact that Sibu is just not the first thing in any politician's mind. But then comes another question. Our Dato' Robert Lau is the Federal Deputy Minister of Housing. Why is Sibu still so neglected ?
Technically speaking, Sibu town Sarawak has to move away from its' present location now to some genuinely hard higher grounds. Sibu people has to agree to this if they want to see Sibu town Sarawak reborn. Not just that but genuinely professional qualified people are needed to plan out the whole infrastructure system not just for the moment but for all time to come for this new Sibu town because looking at the map, Sarawak has too much low lands. And of course this issue comes back to square one. Ringgit Malaysia.
So for the moment, it remains a dream.
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