Sabah, Malaysia Proposes Granting Protected Status to Water Sources Amidst Drought

A freshwater reservoir in Penang, Malaysia (Flickr).

Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan of Sabah, Malaysia, announced the necessity to protect several water sources amid water scarcity on March 22, 2024. This is the latest response to a drought in the region that is currently affecting roughly 150,000 people in the Papar District, according to district disaster management committee chairman Fuad Abdullah. 

As a result, Papar has begun to receive water deliveries via trucks amounting to 1.18 million liters per day. However, this effort may not be enough to address the challenges residents are facing. Sabah’s Parliament member, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, says a minimum of seven million liters of water per day are required for residents’ needs.

The water supplies of Papar residents have been impacted in a number of ways. Reports have complained of weak water pressure, discolored water, and taps running completely dry, leaving many to depend on the periodic shipments of clean water that began in late February, says The Star. In addition, the crop yield in the region has decreased as a consequence of reduced precipitation.

The drought has likely resulted from ongoing hot weather caused by El Niño, a weather event characterized by a periodic increase in the surface temperatures of water in certain regions of the Pacific Ocean. This is not a novel occurrence. In 2016, the district office distributed water to over 10,000 Sabah residents to combat water shortages from a drought occurring during that year’s El Niño.

Although El Niño is not a new weather pattern, studies suggest that climate change is now a significant contributing factor to its formation. Analysts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predict that with climate change, future El Niños will become more frequent and more severe.

Despite Malaysia having a relatively abundant supply of water, climate change is one of many factors that threaten the country’s ability to maintain its water security. The demand for water continues to grow every year due to increased development, urbanization, and population growth. Industry and agriculture also exact steep demands on water sources which are only expected to increase.

Papar is not the only city experiencing high water stress. In neighboring Indonesia, Jakarta has recently gained infamy for sinking at a rapid rate due to over-extraction of groundwater throughout urban settlements. This factored into outgoing President Joko Widodo’s decision to build a new capital city, Nusantara, in Borneo.

Although the water shortage is currently contained to Sabah, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor says the “El Nino phenomenon should not be treated lightly,” reported The Vibes. As another measure to combat the drought, his cabinet approved a “cloud-seeding” program in which airplanes will release particles with special water attraction, absorption, and retention properties into the air to improve the ability of clouds to create rain.  

As water stress factors continue to proliferate, so will Malaysia’s need for innovative policy. The plea for the protection of water sources not only highlights the severity of this drought but also the overall trends of water scarcity that increasingly threaten tropical nations.