I lazed away in a kopitiam with some buddies in a lazy afternoon last Saturday. Over a cup of kopi-o, we indulged in blah on Sibu .
Sibu, our dear homeland, is always so mind-boggling, giving Sibuians both fascination and puzzlement. Kopi-o session is, therefore, never short of thought-provoking Sibu affairs to chat about.
Sibu was again short hit by gruesome flood arising from the torrential rain in the upper Rajang. Much to blame has been the silted-up Rajang, so sickening that we are now much more frequently flooded in Sibu.
Certain victimised residents at the low-lying spots once told me they wished to let their votes to speak loud and clear for them.
The election pledge by the ruling front of a grand flood treatment project to alleviate the nightmarish attacks was like a shot in the arm, giving Sibuians both thrill and hope.
But what is intriguing is that the grand flood project is short of mention of dredging the river.
Isn't it supposed to be more down to the root? My buddies put it to me.
Very thought-provoking for thinking Sibuians!
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1 comment:
Sibu is one of the oldest towns in Sarawak and ever since I started living here, flood is a common sight. Back those days when the main roads were just Lanang Road and Oya Road, these roads were flood prone and still are flood prone these days, together with the other so called newer roads and lanes. Even the kampungs are not spared from flood and they are made worse because they are alongside the river. Sibu does not have good hard ground. In fact the ground here is mainly swampy or soft with very little hard ground. There are parts of Sibu where poor people live and theirs is almost always flooded as compared to the rich people's areas. Between resettling the people and dredging the Rejang River, which one is better ? And it is not only these two mentioned roads that got flooded. Other areas too. Then another point is if the Bakun dam got burst, Sibu will be submerged in water and will be forgotten forever. So should Sibuians just move out from Sibu and go to places nearer to Miri where the land is higher ? Sibu town is expanding. Now the Sibujaya is near the airport and new houses are being developed. However Sibujaya no matter how new it is, is still struck by floods. If Sibu brings a lot of benefits to many people including the politicians, then it will not go to waste if there is a grand building of a new Sibu. But Sibu has nothing much to offer. So probably we have to struggle with this flood problems for a few more years. For the time being, we should take it seriously to get ourselves a raft, a sampan or a big lorry.
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