SEMPORNA: There should be a resettlement plan for squatters off Semporna islands to address key issues in the district, said Nixon Abdul Hadi, 53, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah-Barisan Nasional candidate for the Semporna parliamentary seat.
He said the issue was linked to water supply issues in the district.
"On average, about 48 million litres of water come out from our treatment plant in a day, but the moment it goes out, the government has to pay.
"However, what they collect is only 18 million litres.
"We have leakages of 30 million litres. It could be due to broken and old pipes, but I think it's mainly due to the squatters.
"We have to manage this, otherwise we are losing 30 million litres a day," he said, adding the state government could be losing at least RM50,000 a day in revenue.
Nixon, a district council member for four terms, said the water crisis was also affecting the hospital and schools.
He said a business premises had to spend at least RM150 per day for operations.
"It is time to resettle the squatters. Whenever they use or consume water, they have to pay for it like other citizens."
He said that based on a survey done during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were 6,000 squatter houses in the district.
He said the government was losing out in terms of opportunity cost by not leveraging prime areas where the squatters were located.
He added that these sites had potential in terms of natural beauty and that more hotels, resorts and a jetty or marina should be built there.
"We have to address this immediately. Hopefully, the state government has enough money with the new arrangement being made with Petronas.
"It could channel some money to Semporna to address the resettlement issue.
"In Tuaran, there are many low-cost housing areas. But in Semporna, there is only one, with another one coming."
He said Sulabayan constituents on Pulau Bum Bum deserved better benefits like other Malaysians.
"The distance between Bum Bum and Semporna is so near. It's just a five-minute swim.
"Due to the world economic situation, I don't think the Bum Bum-Semporna Bridge can be done.
"The government could open a ferry service, which is practical and cheaper."
He will face Warisan's Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, Arastam Pandorog of Pakatan Harapan and Ab Rajik@Ab Ra Rajak Ab Hamid of Pejuang on polling day on Nov 19.
For his campaign, Nixon said he had set up a TikTok account to reach out to voters.