The Selangor State Government considers the recent statement by Deputy Minister Muhyiddin Yassin as protecting his cronies from the rakyat. Muhyiddin Yassin accused the Selangor government of providing free water and not increasing water tariffs, which shows he is giving priorities to the concession companies instead of the people.
The problems of the water services industry in Selangor is the result of privatisation conducted by the previous Barisan Nasional government. Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd. (“Puncak”) and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn. Bhd. (“SYABAS”) did not have the efficiency nor financial capacity to sustain their operations of water services, such that in December 2009, the Federal Government gave a back-loaded interest free unsecured RM320.8 million loan to SYABAS. The Federal Government’s generosity to this private concessionaire has benefitted SYABAS indeed. Despite this lucrative loan, SYABAS is still experiencing problems in making its payments owed to the three water treatment operators in Selangor.
The Deputy Prime Minister seems to therefore be speaking on behalf of UMNO to protect the Chief Executive Officer of Puncak, Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, who also happens to have held significant positions in the party such as UMNO Selangor treasurer and Hulu Selangor treasurer. We have reason to believe that Puncak has provided a substantial amount of financing to UMNO and its group of supporters.
The Selangor State Government has long been prepared to resolve the water restructuring issue with numerous rounds of proposals submitted for discussion with the Federal Government. However, the stumbling block has always been Puncak and SYABAS, their inability to agree on a sum, and unfortunately their actions seem to be supported by the Federal Government.
The Deputy Prime Minister’s statement on water supply shortage is also untrue. The Pahang-Selangor water transfer project was based on consultants’ projection that Selangor would face a water shortage crisis. Our projections however show this is not the case. Even if there was a shortage possibility, there exist other alternative water sources which can be drawn from in a shorter period, including underground water, and treated water from rivers and lakes.
We hope that the Deputy Prime Minister will check his facts accurately before making any further statements. By giving in to the demands of water concession companies Puncak and SYABAS, this would have an effect of water tariffs for the people of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. His experience as a former Menteri Besar of Johor is also unsatisfactory, given that Johor has one of the highest water tariffs in the whole of Malaysia.
YAB TAN SRI DATO’ SERI ABDUL KHALID IBRAHIM
DATO’ MENTERI BESAR SELANGOR
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