Seawater Evaporation Pilot Project In Sabah

SEMPORNA (Sabah, Malaysia), June 5 (Bernama) -- The Rural and Regional Development Ministry is implementing a pilot project to process drinking water through the seawater evaporation system for the benefit of more than 2,000 residents of Pulau Larapan, an island about 20 minutes' ride by speedboat from Sabah's mainland. A project study was undertaken by the Malaysian Design Development Centre (Malaysia DDEC), a subsidiary company of the ministry, in March prior to introducing the system, the first of its kind in the country, in May. Its minister Mohd Shafie Apdal told reporters after launching the pilot project, here, on Monday that the project would take one year and if successful, it would be implemented nationwide as a drinking water alternative source for islanders. According to him, each water evaporation system unit was capable of processing 20 litres of drinking water, which was sufficient to provide for one family on the island. Meanwhile, Shafie said the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah as announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak on June 1 should be supported. Shafie, who is also Umno vice-president, said the RCI would help to overcome the problem of illegal immigrants, which was not only faced by Sabah but also developed countries like the United Kingdom and the United States of America. "We don't want foreigners to come here without documents because at the end of the day, it would create social problems like what is happening here in Semporna - the piracy cases and other incidents, which we surely don't want," he said. Nevertheless, he hoped the RCI would be selected based on their credibility to find the truth and not base their conclusions on political inclination, political platform or political elements. -- BERNAMA