KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan is calling for a stop to finger pointing over the landslide issue.
“We cannot blame anyone because Mother Nature is in control. Anywhere in the world, there are floods, landslides, and in America now, there is hot weather.
“The weather today is so unpredictable. We used to be able to predict the weather in the past but not anymore. What we can do now is to take care and be alert, especially in the event of heavy rain,” Pairin, the Infrastructure Development Minister, advised.
Speaking to reporters after meeting a delegation of Japanese members of parliament led by Koya Nishikawa yesterday, he said, although the landslide incident was not under his ministry’s purview, he said the state government would continue to monitor the situation in Kundasang, especially as the area has been categorised as unstable.
Pairin said that in the past, he was asked the same question, and that according to the report from the Public Works Department, they have brought officers from the Geological Department to Kundasang and found that several areas there are indeed unstable.
“And the situation worsens after a heavy downpour. So, we were advised that we cannot do any repair work, because no matter what we do, any structure erected will not stay as the soil is mobile,” he said.
He recalled a school in Kundasang which actually ‘moved’ from its original spot due to soil movements in the area.
“We have lots of experience, including roads. There was a time when I suggested that we should have roads made of rubber so it can be flexible. But above all, we cannot blame anyone, we have to stop pointing fingers. Let’s just hope that the scientists would find a cure to the problem soon,” he said.