Chong calls upon MPP to stop councillor from ‘bullying’ landowner at Jalan Semaba

KUCHING (Apr 28): Stampn MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen has called upon Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) to stop one of its councillors from ‘bullying’ a landowner at Jalan Semaba Lot 161A.

Chong, who is also Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman, claimed that the said councillor had chastised the landowner for seeking assistance from DAP over a soil erosion issue.

“MPP had approved a drainage design, which would allow water from the concrete drains along the main roads of Jalan Semaba Lorong 7, 9 and 10, to be discharged through the natural earth drain along Lot 161A.

“This, however, has caused severe soil erosion along the boundary of Lot 161A – resulting in the sinking of the concrete slab adjacent to the earth drain and the building structure thereon,” he said in a statement.

Chong said for several years, the owner of Lot 161A had been approaching MPP to seek solution to this matter, but to no avail.

As such, he said the soil erosion and land sink problems had deteriorated over the years, even causing significant damage to the building structure.

“Finally, two weeks ago, the landowner approached me – asking me to write, on her behalf, to request MPP to construct a concrete drain along the natural earth drain to prevent further erosion on her land.

“I wrote a letter to MPP requesting for urgent action to be taken. Instead of replying to my letter, the MPP councillor called up the landowner and scolded her for asking me to help write a letter on her behalf to the council.

“She (MPP councillor) even threatened to cancel the project,” he claimed.

Chong pointed out that as councils had been collecting assessment rates from land and house owners in their respective areas of jurisdiction, thus it was one of their key responsibilities to provide proper drainage to any of these areas.

“The owner of Lot 161A has lived there for more than 40 years, and has been dutifully paying the assessment rates to the MPP all these years.

“Yet, because of the improper design of the drainage of MPP, she suffers the damage to her property,” he said.

Chong said MPP’s excuse of its funds could not be used for repair works on any private property was not valid as the damage to Lot 161A could be attributed to improper and irresponsible act of the council in allowing access water from its designed drains to be discharged through the private drain; thereby causing damage to the said private property.

“This is the basic law; the basic responsibility of the council.

“I urge MPP to quickly remedy the situation by constructing a concrete drain over the earth drain before any further unfortunate incident could happen,” said Chong.

The post Chong calls upon MPP to stop councillor from ‘bullying’ landowner at Jalan Semaba appeared first on Borneo Post Online.