Some 1,000 students have protested at the persistent water shortages at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah campus in Labuan.
Photo: UMS Labuan website
It was the first picket in the history of Labuan, reports Bernama, which said the water problems were due to a “dry spell”.
Armed with placards and posters, they gathered at the university campus about 14km from Labuan town as early as 9am, and demanded water – as the police were on standby.
It looks as if the water shortages in Labuan, previously highlighted in this blog, have not yet been resolved, judging from this letter by an upset parent.
Since July-August 2009, many letters have been written to everybody and anybody in authority to resolve the major water crisis that has hit the Universiti Malaysia Sabah-Kampus Antarabangsa Labuan. Despite all the requests and pleas and the resulting promises, there seems to be no end to the water shortage crisis. If anything the situation has worsened, with the static tanks that have been set up not being filled up when empty. Invariably, students have to endure a day in every three days with ZERO water.
Many students have been spending time in town to find clean food as there is insufficient water to wash the dishes properly. My daughter told me that many of the male undergraduates have resorted to staying at the Labuan International Airport from Friday to Sunday night, or whenever there is a holiday. The airport is the one place where there is regular water supply, air-conditioning, and Internet access. During the Mauladur Rasul holiday weekend, there were so many UMS-KAL students at the airport that airport officials started to scold them, and they were chased out from the airport.
Is this a sign of things to come as our planet contends with water shortages aggravated by competing demand from the public and demand from industry (to cater to ever-increasing production of consumer goods, which in turn requires more raw materials)?
Why haven’t we heard more about the Labuan water shortages? Some 80,000 Labuan residents, including 4,000 students, have been faced with a serious water shortage since July.
Bernama reports that demand for water in Labuan is about 56 million litres a day but supply (from the mainland) is only at 42 million litres, a shortfall of 25 per cent. But 10 million litres (about a quarter) of the water supply is consumed by Petronas’ mega methanol plant (photo here).
And the people suffer.
