By Khairul Khalid
Selangor MB (Menteri Besar) Khalid Ibrahim should make the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) of the new water agreement between the state and federal government available to the public, urges Charles Santiago who is MP (Member of Parliament) of Klang.
“Khalid and the federal government have to make the MoU open to public scrutiny. The MB has to go back to the Selangor state assembly and table it to the state representatives for debate. It is part of the Pakatan Rakyat manifesto. So far nobody has been told or consulted. I am not surprised by his move, though. That is just how he (Khalid) works,” said Santiago clearly referring to the MB’s perceived preference for unilateral decision-making.
After several years of deadlock, negotiations between the federal and Selangor state government took a surprising new turn with the recent signing of a MoU to restructure the state’s water supply industry.
It clears the way for the Langat 2 water treatment plant to finally take off. The federal government has also promised additional funds of RM2 billion to enable the Selangor state to take over the water concessions.
Charles Santiago
Santiago has questioned the mechanism of the new water deal.
“Why a MoU instead of an outright takeover? Section 114 of the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) allows the federal government to take over the concessionaires. It was mooted before. The new MoU only says that federal government will facilitate the state takeover. But why doesn’t the federal government take them (concessionaires) over instead and hand them back to Selangor? That would have been easier,” said Santiago.
He is also concerned about the the additional RM2 billion promised by the government.
“Will the RM2 billion be in the form of a grant or a loan? Will it be part of the RM9.65 final offer price or will the concessionaires be paid more? Who will ultimately bear the costs and how will this affect water prices? There are too many unanswered questions,” Santiago said.
The catch is that even with this new MoU the Selangor state might still be unable to compel the concessionaires to agree on a buyout price, says Santiago.
“If Syabas (Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor) still baulks at the (Selangor state’s offer), there could be further arbitration. Essentially, we can go back to square one again and this could drag on,” said Santiago.
The Klang MP also reiterates other related matters such as the viability of Langat 2 water treatment plant, the necessity for water conservation and reducing NRW (non-revenue water) as critical issues that need to be resolved before reaching an agreement.
Subramaniam Pillay a member of Selangor’s water review panel formed five years ago also disputes the need for the Langat 2 water treatment plant. The entire Langat 2 project will reportedly cost up to RM9 billion.
“Do we really need Langat 2? It’s debatable. There have been studies showing that we can extract more water from our rivers. There is also groundwater extraction and other alternatives we have not explored. We should also focus on water conservation and demand management. There is a lot of water wastage in Selangor,” said Pillay.
He explains that the immediate problem of water shortage in Selangor is a combination of both the lack of raw and treated water.
“Water levels at dams are down. But we are also lacking treated water because water treatment plants are claiming to run at full capacity. There are a lot of leakages caused by old pipes that have not been replaced due to the protracted water negotiations. If Selangor can reduce NRW, we won’t be facing water shortages,” said Pillay who refers to Penang’s efficiency in water management as a role model for Selangor.
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