By Khairul Khalid
Maximus Ongkili
Selangor water production and management will be controlled by the federal government after Section 114 of WSIA (Water Services Industry Act) is invoked, said Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Maximus Ongkili today.
“Selangor state will participate in the water committee but I will be in control and set the KPIs. We will monitor the finances of the concessionaires but the companies will still be running their business as usual until they can agree on takeover price with state,” Ongkili said.
According to the minister, the federal government will be in control until the Selangor state government can reach an agreement with the concessionaires on the buyout impasse or upon the first trickle of water supply from Langat 2 plant, which can be as soon as three months or up to another three years.
There are four water concessionaires in Selangor, namely SPLASH, Puncak Niaga and Konsortium Abass which treat water and SYABAS, which distributes treated water.
However this appears at odds with Selangor Mentri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s previous claim that the Selangor state government will be in charge of the water concessionaires.
Ongkili however stated that Khalid is aware of all this.
At present, added Ongkili, the federal government is waiting for a heads of agreement to be signed between the federal and state governments before the former steps in with WSIA. The minister said he hopes Langat 2 will be fast-tracked.
Ongkili was speaking at a briefing at Sungai Selangor dam today, where the water level is currently at 37%.
From the briefing, KiniBiz understands that cloud seeding and water rationing have not been very successful managing water levels so far because recent rainfall had fallen outside catchment areas.
Ongkili said that if the water level at Sungai Selangor dam falls below the critical 30% level within the next two weeks, the federal government may invoke Section 56 of WSIA to declare a state of emergency. If that happens then more drastic measures may follow including penalties and fines for water wastage, added Ongkili.
Therefore Ongkili is appealing for water users to use water discriminately until the water problem is solved, given that available water in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor is not enough for both households and industries.
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