Media statement by Dr. Hiew King Cheu in Miri on Wednesday, 13^th April 2011:

Beaufort regular flood never get better after spending million ringgit

The recent serious flood in Beaufort is a shear indication of how effective the so-called flood gate and flood mitigation scheme can operate after spending millions of Ringgit of tax-payers' money. The people in Beaufort are screening in anger and dismay. The government is spending huge sum of money and yet still can not effectively solve the problem of flooding in Beaufort. What is the reason behind all this ineffective work and may be some one can enlighten us?

I have brought up the problem of flooding in the whole Beaufort in Parliament many times and various answers were given including huge allocation made under RMK9 and RMK10. What happen in Beaufort now is still flood and flood again. This is giving the people here more headaches and difficulties. Many schools were closed due to the deep flood water which flooded the school or cut off the access roads.

Many people have started to query why the government still not working on the plans to straighten, deepening and widening the Padas River down stream of Beaufort town. The river can actually be diverted to have a second outlet to Weston town further south. This would be a good suggestion and a workable one. The possible solution still depends largely the will power and the determination of the government to help the Beaufort out of "deep and trouble water"!

This problem of flooding in Beaufort can be solved, and it is not difficult and involving Billions of Riggits. The way how the BN government is handling, seems not giving the full care for the Beaufort folks. The work on the flood gates and its installation had already wasted much money and still cannot cope with the flood. The flood water still gets in and flood the whole town and school closed. The small water pumps seems like child-play, just imagine how can the small water pumps pump out the billion of gallons of flood water that is gusting into the town, another big waste of public funds?

Many Beaufort dwellers and kampong folks said that they are truly fed up and frustrated with the government unable to help them. They said what ever they do and wish to plant here need to be given the first thought that whether it will be affected by flood or not. They said why the government never comes to compensate them when the crops and fruit trees are destroyed by the flood while in other places in Sabah received government compensation and aids.

I am deeply regretted that the BN government had failed the people in Beaufort.

* Dr Hiew King Cheu, MP for Kota Kinabalu