Third-party damage to water pipes, cables racks up RM4.6 mln in repairs since 2025; Minister moots heavier penalties

Workers fixing the burst water pipe at Jalan Tun Jugah on Aug 12, 2026.

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, Oct 19: Damage to water pipes, underground cables and other utility infrastructure caused by third parties has resulted in an estimated RM4.6 million in repair costs across 1,378 incidents since 2025.

Minister for Utility and Telecommunication Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi said the incidents involved construction contractors, excavation companies and project developers, often resulting in service disruptions and financial losses to utility agencies and consumers.

Winding up the debate on his ministry at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting today, he said utility agencies were often blamed by the public whenever services were disrupted, even when the damage was caused by third parties.

“Every time damage to utility facilities occurs and services are disrupted, the relevant agencies are often criticised and blamed by the public, when in reality the damage was caused by third parties,” he said.

He added that the agencies also had to deal with repair costs, negative public perception, public pressure and the additional workload involved in restoring services.

Citing the recent burst water pipe incident along Jalan Tun Jugah, Julaihi said the incident affected more than 100,000 households and took seven hours to repair.

He said he was surprised to learn during his visit to the site that night that the damaged pipe was one that had recently been relocated to a new alignment.

“The new alignment means they already knew where the pipe was located, so this should not have happened at all. This involved negligence and human error,” he said.

Julaihi said he had visited the site with his officers that night to remind those involved to ensure that similar incidents did not recur.

He stressed that such incidents could no longer be allowed to continue, urging developers and contractors to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the ministry when carrying out work on site.

“Probably another strategy could be to impose heavier penalties in the future. That could serve as a deterrent.

“But I am just thinking that this could be a deterrent, so that such incidents will not happen again in the future,” he said. — DayakDaily