KUCHING, Oct 3 — The Sarawak Impian Malaysia team should have discussed their project plans with the Serian district health office before building the mini dam to supply piped water to the villagers of Kampung  Sangai Empani, state representative Martin Ben said.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker added that the team had failed to follow the proper procedures even if they had noble intentions.

“They should have informed the health office first that they were going to connect the new pipes from the mini dam to the existing water distribution system. This is a standard operating procedures of the health department,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted last night for comment.

Serian DAP chief Edward Luak had earlier yesterday complained that their Impian Malaysia project to provide piped water to some 100 households in the district a month ago had suffered due to the health office’s refusal to hook up the pipes from the mini dam upstream of Sungai Sangai to the government’s main gravity feed system that is under the custody of the Health Ministry

But Ben explained that the health office refused because they did not want their distribution system to be damaged by the installation of new pipes connected to the new mini dam.

The Kedup assemblyman was sceptical that Impian Malaysia’s mini dam could supply sufficient water to meet the village’s needs.

“The mini dam is built down the river of another mini dam, so you can see whether the DAP’s mini dam can have enough supply of water,” he said.

Ben, however, refused to be dragged into a spat with his rivals when asked to comment on Luwak’s claim that the district health office had been politically pressured to refuse the DAP-backed project pipe connectivity.

“If they say ‘yes’, what can I do? If I say ‘no’, what can they do?” he countered.

However, he took a swipe at the DAP, saying he had told the villagers of Kampung Sangai Empani that the opposition party should help them with projects year-round and not just ahead of the state election.