SIBU (Feb 17): The Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) has applied for RM7 million in disaster relief fund to carry out a sheet piling project at the landslide affected areas in Rantau Panjang here.

The council, in an emergency meeting held recently, had submitted the request for the funding from the state government, said its chairman Clarence Ting.

“The affected residents expressed hope for SMC to address the issue quickly.

“As it (project) involves structural matters, we will leave it to the engineers on the technical aspects and designs decisions of the project.

“We are taking this issue very seriously, and we will push things through,” he told reporters when met at the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Pelawan’s New Year Gala dinner here on Saturday, which had Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Sarawak Datuk Michael Tiang as its guest-of-honour.

It is informed that a total of 38 residents from eight houses at Lorong Rantau Panjang Jaya in Teku here were affected by the landslide, which struck on Feb 4.

Additionally, Ting said the council had also applied for a fund under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) to elevate the level of roads at Pulau Li Hua here.

The SUPP Pelawan chairman added that the installation of new pumping stations at Kampung Nangka here, as part of the Sibu flood mitigation project, had helped reduce the risk of flooding in the area.