1,000 students protest over dry taps

As the current dry spell has worsened water woes in Labuan, more than 1,000 students of Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan
International Campus (UMSKAL) today staged a protest, urging the authorities to find a quick solution to their misery.

The picket was the first in the history of the international offshore island of Labuan which has been affected by a shortage of water supply since the middle of last year.

Armed with placards and posters, they gathered at the university campus about 14km from Labuan town as early as 9am, and demanded for water as the police were on standby.

During the noisy picket, lectures were temporarily halted.

Speaking to Bernama, UMSKAL student representatives council vice-president Heryanto Hasanudin said they had submitted a memorandum to the university's student affairs department before the picket.

According to the memorandum, the students want Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin to visit UMSKAL and check the situation first-hand; a consistent and clean water supply and temporary closure of the university until the water woes are solved.

More than 2,500 students are currently studying at the university, with the majority from the mainland of Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. A small percentage of students are from China, Indonesia and other countries.

“Due to the water woes, some students have quit and are pursuing their studies in other universities," claimed Heryanto.

According to him, students had been facing the water problem since the first semester of last year, “but this second semester, we hoped the situation would change for the better.

"Unfortunately, it's getting even worse. We have voiced our concerns since last year but it continues unabated. We hope the minister will find ways and means to help us.”

The students are now relying on tankers from the water supply department for their daily supplies.

Heryanto said they tried to get the university vice-chancellor to assist but failed.

Bernama tried to reach UMSKAL director but to no avail.

Labuan MP Yussof Mahal said he wanted the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry to seek a solution to water problem in Labuan.

"We cannot afford to see students and our people continue to face this problem, day in and out. We simply cannot attract investors if the problem persists," he said.

UMSKAL requires at least 120,000 gallons of water daily for its students and staff.

Meanwhile, the water supply department, following a meeting with Federal Territories and Wellbeing Ministry secretary-general Ahmad Phesal Talip, is expected to send ample supply of water to the university.

But the question now is, if UMSKAL gets priority for water supply, what about the 85,000 consumers on the island?

The water supply is now on a ration basis to all 27 villages, and is expected to continue until December when the new RM365 million undersea water pipelines from Beaufort are fully connected.

Labuan is still dependent on water supply from mainland Sabah via an undersea pipeline through the Padas River in Beaufort district.

Currently, demand for water in Labuan is about 56 million litres a day but supply is only at 42 million litres, a shortfall of 25 per cent.

The water problem in Labuan started when two of the three dams went dry early last year.

- Bernama