KUCHING – The Mayor of Kuching South City Council, Dato Wee Hong Seng, conducted an urgent site inspection at the Kenyalang Food Centre and Jalan Mendu following a significant disruption to the local water supply. The outage, which occurred recently, was attributed to a burst main pipe serving the area.
Accompanying the mayor during the visit were councillors Cr Albert Tay and Cr Eric Tay. The administrative team arrived on the scene shortly after the mayor was alerted to the crisis via mobile messages from local hawkers whose businesses were being hampered by the lack of running water.
Upon his arrival, Dato Wee assessed the extent of the damage and the impact on the community. Recognising the urgency of the situation for food operators, he immediately liaised with Sarawak Water to coordinate an emergency response. The mayor specifically requested the urgent dispatch of water tankers to the affected zones to serve as a stopgap measure.
The deployment of these tankers ensured that traders at the Kenyalang Food Centre could maintain their daily operations and hygiene standards despite the technical fault. Dato Wee emphasised the priority of protecting the economic stability of local small businesses during such infrastructure failures.
“The livelihood of our hawkers is important. We must ensure that basic services like water supply are restored quickly, or alternative solutions are provided so that businesses can continue as usual,” Dato Wee stated during his inspection.
Currently, water tankers remain stationed at both Jalan Mendu and the food centre, providing essential relief while technical crews from the relevant authorities carry out the necessary pipe repairs. The Mayor has provided assurances that MBKS is working in close tandem with Sarawak Water to accelerate the restoration process.
Local residents and business owners have been asked to exercise patience as the engineering teams work to resolve the underground fault. The mayor’s office has committed to providing further updates as the repair work progresses toward completion.
This prompt intervention by the city’s leadership highlights the critical nature of maintaining reliable utility infrastructure in Kuching’s busy commercial hubs. For now, the focus remains on returning the system to full capacity to prevent further financial loss for the area’s service providers.
