PETALING JAYA: Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has pledged to avoid a recurrence of the catastrophic flooding throughout his constituency by pledging to deepen the riverbeds of the Sungai Sibiew and Sungai Kemena respectively.
“After three days and two nights of relentless heavy rain, Bintulu has been severely inundated, with widespread flooding affecting numerous areas.
“In the worst-hit locations, water levels have risen to nearly the second floor of residential buildings.
“Many flood victims, particularly the elderly, women, and children, have been left stranded in their homes, awaiting rescue,” he said in his Facebook post, today.
In his post, Tiong who is pictured leading to flood victim rescue operations, opined that while some parties attribute the catastrophic floods to natural causes, others point to inadequacies in infrastructure.
“We cannot ignore the possibility that human factors have exacerbated the severity of the flooding.
“Issues such as flaws in Bintulu’s drainage system have prevented Sungai Sibiew from effectively discharging excess water, causing a rapid surge in river levels.
“The strong currents have further complicated rescue operations, increasing risks for both victims and responders.
“The worst-affected areas are clearly those surrounding Sungai Sibiew, which is a direct consequence of the long-overdue deepening and widening of the riverbed,” he said.
Tiong who is also Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said the riverbed project for Sungai Sibiew has remained a mere proposal for nearly five years, with no actual progress.
“This devastating flood should serve as an urgent warning—relevant agencies must take responsibility.
“I have repeatedly emphasised that the river must be deepened by at least three to five metres and widened to 100 metres to accommodate increasing rainfall due to climate change.
“Only by doing so can we prevent such disasters from recurring,” he said.
