Collapsed Jetty at Sungai Apong.

Finally, the offending jetty is removed.

Waking up early is a routine for me. I prefer to do things early as I believed that the earlier one starts a day, the faster and more tasks could be done that day.

I met up with my comrade at our DAP Service Centre at Chonglin Park. We proceeded to Jalan Simen, Pending and headed towards the Sg. Apong jetty which was used as a loading and unloading of Land and Survey boats. I don’t like to critise for the sake of criticising but I don’t understand why a government department could move and left behind broken pieces without even bothering to clear up, in this case, a collapsed cement jetty.

The collapsed jetty had been there for decades and I came to understand that previously, SUPP was approached by the Sg. Apong fishermen to help removed the collapsed jetty. Nothing was done. Year after year, the poor fishermen had to put up with propeller damaged and dented body on their fishing trawlers as the bridge was almost in the middle of the narrow river.

The fishermen had enough problems created to their livelihood and having this one added was too much for them to bear. When they first came to me sometime in October, 2008, I wrote a letter to the controller of the Sarawak River Board on October 4 seeking their assistance to remove the broken jetty.

During the May, 2009 DUN sitting and last DUN sitting in November, I brought up the issue again asking the authority to do something. Finally, the authorities get their foot moving.

The Sg. Apong fishermen called me early this week to convey their thanks. At long last the broken jetty is in the progess of being dismantled. I am happy for them and when I arrived at the jetty, indeed the workers were doing their work. One of them chatted with me and said they could only work when the tide is low. He told me that it was the Drainage Irrigation Department who asked them to clear the obstacles. I think he must be puzzled why I gave him a big grin. I remembered hearing from residents in Sg. Apong that the SUPP had tried to get credit by telling the people that they, (SUPP) had engaged workers to demolish the collapsed jetty!

What a way to get credit. I believe that if the SUPP bothered to go to the ground to help the people, they could get their credit due to them. It is a shame that they could stoop so low to get a few praise that way. SUPP thinks that the people are so stupid that they can be fooled around.

The whole issue has shown that the relevant government departments can indeed do their work if they are given a little push. Those managaing government departments should appreciate problems brought about by inaction on the part of the department itself when it is adding to the daily woes of the local people. The department in fact should be proactive, and act to do things for the people instead of waiting for them to be urged to do so.