Deputy higher education minister Mustapha Sakmud said the Sabah water department had increased the storage capacity of the campus’s tanks, with the main water tank seeing its capacity rise from two million litres per day to four million litres per day.

“These measures have led to a reduction in complaints from students,” he said.

“Additionally, MPs are now rarely sending water tanks to the campus and surrounding areas,” he said.

The water woes at the Sabah public university had received significant media attention since last year after students organised protests on campus against both the state and federal governments.

Last May, Mustapha blamed the prolonged water disruptions at UMS on the tube well, which he said could supply only one million litres daily, while the campus required five million litres per day.

The deputy minister told FMT that he had asked chief minister Hajiji Noor to direct the Sabah water department to ensure uninterrupted water supply to the campus.

Mustapha also said the state government was expediting the construction of a pipeline from the water treatment plant in Telibong to meet the demands of the increasing number of consumers, adding that the pipe should provide a long-term solution to UMS’s water issues.