Selangor water issue: 'Government puts interest of the rakyat first'

Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KETTHA) denied the accusation made by Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Federal Government and Selangor state was 'not in the interest of the rakyat'.

In solving the water issue in Selangor, KETTHA in a statement on Thursday said that the Federal Government had always put the rakyat’s interest first.

"With the signing of the MoU, the Selangor government will take over the water concessions in Selangor and consolidate its operations under a company under the state government. The company will be the water operator for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya,” stated the Ministry.

The Ministry added that Selangor, as the water operator, would be responsible over preparing a business plan which needs to be approved by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) including any proposals to revise water tariffs.

“Thus, the Selangor state government through its fully owned subsidiary will determine whether a tariff revision is needed including the quantum of such a tariff hike on the users, taking into consideration the business plan for its water supply operation for Selangor, Federal Territories, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya,” stated the Ministry.

The MoU, according to the ministry, is made based on two main agreements:

(a) the acquisition of Selangor water concessionaires of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS), Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor (SPLASH) and Konsortium ABASS (ABASS) by the state through Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB).

(b) the providing of the necessary approvals to enable the immediate implementation of Langat 2 water treatment plant (LRAL2)

"The Selangor government has also given the commitment to give all approvals so that raw water from Pahang can be channeled for the needs of Selangor, Federal Territories and Putrajaya,” stated the Ministry.

On February 26, the Federal Government and the Selangor state government had finally come to an agreement after years of deadlock over the water issue in the state.

Both parties signed an MoU to restructure the water industry in order to help resolve the water crisis faced by the people in the state.

The MOU was signed between the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili dan Selangor menteri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, witnessed by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Putrajaya.

However, the MoU was questioned by Rafizi, who is also the PKR strategy director, who claimed that the signing of the deal was a loss for the people in the state.

Rafizi questioned the wisdom of Khalid in signing the deal, which he claimed was lopsided and favoured the Federal Government in various aspects. The Ministry has responded by saying that the deal was fair.