By Khairul Khalid
The federal government’s sudden reversal on the forced takeover of Selangor’s water assets is a betrayal of its agreement with the Selangor state, say Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders Rafizi Ramli, Tony Pua and Dzulkefly Ahmad.
(From left) Tony Pua, Dzulkefly Ahmad & Rafizi Ramli
“It is shocking and unacceptable,” a joint statement by the PR leaders said. “The water crisis in Selangor must be resolved immediately and the rakyat must not wait a day longer. Selangor has already made the final offer that has been rejected by these companies. The deal is dead and there are no more negotiations. Five years of fruitless negotiations with these greedy concessionaires are enough time wasted.”
In an apparent backtracking of an earlier statement, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Maximus Ongkili said last Friday that the federal government is still “facilitating without invoking WSIA (Water Services Industry Act 2006) if possible”.
The minister added that he still had a “glimmer of hope” that the state and concessionaires could still strike a deal on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis between the companies and state without the need for invoking WSIA.
Maximus Ongkili
This would seem to contradict Ongkili’s joint statement with Selangor Menteri Besar (MB) Khalid Ibrahim just a few days earlier to enforce WSIA to “pursue the exercise of its rights and powers under WSIA. This includes invoking Section 114 of WSIA in order to address issues of national interest to ensure security, sustainability and viability of the water supply industry in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.”
Invoking WSIA was decided after three out of the four concessionaires Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) and Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings (Splash) failed to agree on the latest offer of RM9.65 billion stated in the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the state and federal governments to resolve the longstanding issue.
Selangor’s Menteri Besar (MB) Khalid Ibrahim had even confirmed that federal takeover of the state’s water concessionaires under WSIA will save the taxpayers RM2 billion.
“The latest about turn, crafted in vague and ambiguous language has clearly contradicted not only of the joint statement on Tuesday (of invoking WSIA), but is also a betrayal of the spirit of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the state and federal government on 26th February 2014,” the PR joint statement said.
The PR leaders have also reiterated their calls for the Selangor state government to withhold all remaining necessary approvals for the Langat 2 water treatment plant until WSIA is executed.
“There is no legal necessity for the state to fulfill its obligations in the MOU when the federal government has failed to even demonstrate their commitment.”
The three PR leaders are part of a special committee newly formed by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to cooperate with the Selangor state government in implementation of the water industry restructuring exercise.
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