KUCHING:Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kota Sentosa hopes that Stampin MP cum Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen will assist residents of Stampin Resettlement Scheme to apply for and secure development funding from the government towards a long-term solution for flash flood, drainage and stormwater management problems faced there.
SUPP Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) chief Wilfred Yap hoped that this would be achieved to an appropriate level of flood protection and resolve the dilapidated drainage problem, which is a long outstanding issue for residents in the area.
He said during a recent ‘going to the ground’ activity with SUPP members, councillors, and community leaders at Lorong 14, 19, 22, and 33 of Stampin Resettlement Scheme, residents had complained that certain sections of the earth drain fronting their houses were affected by flood during high tide combined with heavy rain.
“As a temporary safety measure, members of the SUPP Kota Sentosa branch have installed flood indicator wooden poles to outline the road boundary to prevent road users from accidentally driving off the road into the drain during flooding, especially with the impending year-end wet and rainy season,” he said today.
On a separate matter, Yap, who is also SUPP Kota Sentosa Branch chairman, appealed to the federal government to consider providing additional financial assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in its 2021 Budget.
“(This could be) through further wage subsidies for employees of SMEs and short-term interest-free or low-interest loans to assist SMEs to go digital by adopting better technologies and also afford SMEs a window to recover from the current economic storm due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
He said many SMEs are struggling to sustain their business operations due to the pandemic.
“The financial assistance given to SMEs is in the interest of Malaysia for the long term as SMEs form the backbone of the country’s economy — employing two-thirds of Malaysia’s total workforce (many of whom are in the B40 category) and contributing around 40 percent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP),” said Yap.
SUPP PCB is always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone facing problems or who have come across problems of public interest but are unsure of how to handle them. Anyone requiring assistance can always call SUPP PCB at 016-7797688 or 082-246999, or directly visit the SUPP Head Office to request for assistance.
