Until 1967, the provision of irrigation and drainage facilities was performed under the purview of the Public Works Department. From 1st January, 1967, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage was formed as a separate entity. With the recent revamping of the government ministries, the department is now reporting to Ministry of Rural Development at the State Level and to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at Federal Level.

The main functions of the department are to develop new agricultural land, assuming all irrigation and drainage responsibilities, river engineering, flood mitigation, coastal engineering and hydrology. Over the years, the Department has taken on new and expanded responsibilities in both the rural and urban settings, such as construction of rural roads and sewerage treatment facilities.

Forty years on and into a new millennium, DID can look back on its history of successfully executed programmes with pride. The experience and knowledge that it has gained, together with its current dynamism to venture into new fields and technologies have placed the Department in the forefront of water resource and land utilisation management.

Personally, I feel proud to head the department from December 2006. There are big tasks ahead in areas of flood mitigation, sewerage treatment, scheme irrigation and coastal engineering, but with the present pool of talented and energetic team there is no reason why the department is not able to meet these challenges.

Thank you and drop by again.

Ir. Wong Siu Hieng
Ag. Director of Irrigation and Drainage
Sarawak
e-mail : jps@sarawaknet.gov.my