A/HRC/42/47/Add.8 Population in Rural Areas 11. Paragraph 34 11. The population living in rural areas require particular attention from the Government, in order to improve their access to water and sanitation services and to ensure sustainability. In rural areas of Malaysia, the main sources of water include rainwater and gravity-fed water from the mountains, and ground water where the source of water is not directly impacted by development projects. In the rural parts of states in East Malaysia, most of the gravity-fed water systems were installed since in the 1980s as a result of a joint effort by the Ministry of Health and the communities. At present, alternative water supply systems, such as gravity-fed systems, tube wells and rainwater harvesting are still being installed by the Ministry of Health with the participation of rural communities throughout the country. The number of systems installed is largely dependent on the availability of funds. The main aim of installing these systems is to prevent or control the outbreak of waterborne diseases in rural areas. Priority is given to poor rural communities and disease high risk areas. Further to that, basic sanitation facilities such as pour flush latrines with soak pits are also installed by the Ministry of Health to prevent faecal-related diseases. While the water supply was available in rural areas, in some rural villages that the Special Rapporteur visited, the maintenance of those systems had been left to the community without any financial support from the Government. He highlights that for the population to enjoy their rights to water and sanitation, it is essential that the solutions to provide water are sustainable and relevant maintenance and improvements to the solution are provided. The alternative water supply systems and sanitary latrines installed by the Ministry of Health are handed over to rural communities for self-maintenance. Major upgrades, repairs or replacements will be undertaken by the Ministry of Health which is again largely dependent on the availability of funds. Comments from the Government of Malaysia:  Malaysia proposes to add additional information to highlight the various and alternative water supply systems in rural areas as follows: At present, alternative water supply systems, such as gravity-fed systems, tube wells and rainwater harvesting are still being installed by the Ministry of Health with the participation of rural communities throughout the country. The number of systems installed is largely dependent on the availability of funds. The main aim of installing these systems is to prevent or control the outbreak of waterborne diseases in rural areas. Priority is given to poor rural communities and disease high risk areas. Further to that, basic sanitation facilities such as pour flush latrines with soak pits are also installed by the Ministry of Health to prevent faecal-related diseases. The alternative water supply systems and sanitary latrines installed by the Ministry of Health are handed over to rural communities for self-maintenance. Major upgrades, repairs or replacements will be undertaken by the Ministry of Health which is again largely dependent on the availability of funds. 12. Paragraph 37 12. Another observation relates to the inequality across regions, particularly in rural areas. As of 2016, approximately 88 per cent of the Sabahans and Sarawakians had connection to central piped water services. This is a different picture compared to Peninsular Malaysia, where in most states, except Kelantan, the rural population enjoys near-universal access to water supply. These figures include only the Malaysian national population, suggesting that the disparities are even higher when considering the significant presence of undocumented population in the states of Sabah and Sarawak. In Sandakan in the state of Sabah, the official statistics of households connected to water piped network and has meters amounts to approximately 43,000 out of 47,000 registered premises. However, there are others who are not within this statistics such as those who work in 6