Kedah wants talks with Penang on raw water charge

The Kedah government wants its Penang counterpart not to reject its request to charge for raw water supply from Sungai Muda. Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said the Kedah government had valid grounds to charge the Penang goverment for the supply despite Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng saying his government would not do so. "Guan Eng's statement on the matter recently appears to be rejecting Kedah's request. I hope he will be more open on this," he told reporters here today. Guan Eng had said that the Penang government would not pay for the raw water supply citing international laws which forbade imposition of charges for naturally flowing water. The previous PAS government in Kedah had also wanted to charge the Penang government RM20 million annually for raw water supply from Sungai Muda. PAS lost Kedah to the Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Election held on May 5.