Mr. Lau Hieng Ung, Director, Sewerage Services Department Sarawak

Exclusive InterviewWM Exclusive Interview withMr. Mohamad Sabari bin Shakeran,General Manager, Kuching Water BoardIr. Mohamad Sabari graduated in1986 with a Bachelor of Science(CivilEngineering) Degree from the MemphisState University Tennessee,USA. Heobtained his Post Graduate (EnvironmentalImpacts Assessment) Degree at MurdochUniversity,Western Australia in 2002, andhis Master of Science (Environment) Degreeat Murdoch University, Western Australia in2004WM: Could you tell us something aboutyour background? For example, howlong have you been involved in the waterindustry?Mr. Sabari: I reported for duty with JabatanKerja Raya Sarawak (JKR) as the AssistantExecutive Engineer on 26th May 1987.My first posting was to the WaterworksSection, JKR Kuching Divisional Office asthe section head-in-charge of the WaterSupply Authorities in Kuching Division;during this period, Samarahan Division wasstill part of Kuching Division.Over 25 years of working experience inJKR Sarawak, some 17 years of my careerare related to the water supply industryinvolving with the planning, design,project management, water resourcesmanagement, and setting up of hydrometricstations, as well as monitoring of waterresources stationed in Water Supply Branchin JKR Headquarters and divisional office.The balance of work experiencesincludes managements, supervisionsof projects related to civil works (roads,buildings, bridges) and operation &maintenance works of government assetsin the JKR divisional offices. I was promotedto the post of General Manager of KuchingWater Board (KWB) on the 5th August2011.WM: What is the situation like of the watersupply in Kuching under the Kuching WaterBoard (KWB)?Mr. Sabari: KWB is currently producingan average of 430 MLD of drinking waterto a supply area of 730sq km and serving apopulation of about 680,000. The meteredconsumption is at 290 MLD and thus, theresultant NRW is about 32.6%. The numberof services in 2011 totals 147,147 thatexpand across the industry, commercial anddomestic consumers.KWB is managed by a total of 574 staffwith 21 of them in the Professional andManagerial Group while the rest of 553 areunder Support Group.WM: What challenges do you have toface in the distributions of water supply inKuching? How was the water situation likewhen you first joined the service and whathave you achieved so far. Are you happywith the results?Mr. Sabari: The high NRW of 32.6% is myimmediate concern and I am confidentthat with the available technologies andestablished industrial practices, KWB canreduce the NRW to a manageable level.About 6 months into my tenure as theGM of KWB, I established two additionalNRW teams in January this year with theaim to facilitate the leak reduction. Withthree NRW teams actively involved now, Iam confident in reducing the NRW by 3-4percent by year-end.WM: What are the projects that you haveundertaken during your tenure?Mr. Sabari: I managed to witness thepractical completion of our 100 MLDModule 8 in September 2011. I am nowembarking on upgrading of our Batu KitangTreatment Plant in meeting the increasingdemand from Kuching City, JKR Kuchingand Samarahan Division supplied by KWB.In meeting the distribution demand ofthe greater Kuching and JKR, a total of 7new reservoirs, some with a capacity of 180ML, will be built before 2030. Studies arebeing conducted now on the constructionof reservoirs at Demak Laut, 9¾ mile and7th Mile in the near future.In ensuring our delivery capability, theconstruction of a 1,000 mm. diam. pipelinking Samajaya Free Industrial Zoneand Module 8 is in progress. In additionto that, new pipes will be laid to link 7thmile network to 9¾ mile and to EntingganReservoir in Kota Samarahan.Despite the availability of raw waterresource, concern on the sustainability of itssupply requires strategic attention. At times,the current safe yield of Sungai Sarawak Kiriis subjected to raw water shortage duringthe prolonged dry spell. The initiative bythe State Government to build Bengoh damsolely for the purpose of raw water storagecould eventually reduce the potential riskof raw water shortage during incoming drymonths.WM: One final Question. What are yourfuture plans in order to upgrade furtherthe water situations in Kuching?Mr. Sabari: Amongst the major activitiesthat will become the road map to the futuredevelopment of KWB’s operation is toembark in the 5 Year Strategic Plans. Themain thrust of the strategic plans encompasstransformation of organisation structure,enhance human capital, strengtheningcustomer service and promote efficientoperation & maintenance of the watersupply system.The activities and outputs derive fromthis strategic planning will be the roadmapfor KWB performance in heading to thefuture. ICT and Asset Management will alsobe another important focus to leveragethe potential high performance of KWB tosatisfy the water consumers.Master of Science(Environment)Murdoch University,Western AustraliaPost Graduate(EnvironmentalImpacts Assessment)Murdoch University,Western AustraliaBachelor of Science(Civil Engineering)Memphis StateUniversity, Tennessee,USA2004200219864 WaterMalaysia