Thousands of students residing in the residential colleges at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) have been plagued by water scarcity issues, and this problem has persisted for a long time.
According to the reports, the water crisis continues despite various measures taken by the university to address the issue.
However, there might be some relief for UMS students as Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, announced an RM3 million allocation to resolve the water problem on campus.
Temu @anwaribrahim di UMS, Sabah
— Dato' Seri Arwah Jemin (@ArwahJemin) May 31, 2023
(Video asal: Youtube @jasonyew)
Masalah air yang kritikal di UMS: "Mana Naib Chanselor?"
Masalah: Penyelesaian: pic.twitter.com/xMNBctXbac
He made this announcement during a Q&A session at the UMS Chancellor's Hall yesterday, in response to a student representative's question.
In a viral video uploaded on Twitter, the student highlighted that the water problem at the campus has led to students and UMS management having to bear the costs themselves for groundwater and rainwater drilling projects, amounting to hundreds of thousands of ringgit.
The student also pointed out that other universities did not face similar water issues.
Consequently, the student sought Anwar's response to their demands. In his response, Anwar approved the allocation of RM3 million to support UMS's efforts in addressing the water problem, including utilizing groundwater sources, rainwater harvesting, and hill water.
"I approve RM3 million for UMS because I don't want UMS students to face difficulties, struggling to bathe and study.
In the coming days, we will ensure this money is disbursed. Do not burden the students and staff with such issues," he said.
Anwar added that although providing the allocation was not an easy task, he did so out of his awareness and understanding of the students' hardships, whom he considers as his own children.
"So, when I ask for money, it's not that simple. But when we talk about awareness, if it were my children, my nephews and nieces, it would be difficult for them to bathe and study without sufficient water," he further explained.
Earlier, tweets on Twitter regarding the UMS water issue went viral, claiming that it had disrupted the daily activities of the campus community.
