By Khairul Khalid
The Selangor water dilemma has taken on startling new dimensions since the signing of an MoU by Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and the federal government. Is Khalid’s surprise move a masterstroke or was he being foolhardy?
For more than five years the state and federal governments have traded barbs, jabs, punches, counter-punches, uppercuts and body blows like two seasoned heavyweight boxers fighting to win control of the Selangor watering hole, err water industry.
Out of the blue, the water MoU was announced. Now, the two-man boxing bout has escalated into a tag-team wrestling match involving multiple fighters. Tiger is always up for a good fight (of course solo, no self-respecting Tiger tag-teams) but even a natural predator such as Tiger finds these latest developments rather head-scratching.
The new MoU will facilitate the RM9.65 billion takeover of the state’s water concessionaires and hasten the federal government’s controversial Langat 2 water treatment plant. After a public outcry over the secretive nature of the deal, Khalid has promised to make the MoU public as well as signing another hitherto unannounced agreement.
Khalid Ibrahim
The central figure is MB Khalid who looked to be at the end of his political tether following Anwar Ibrahim’s “Kajang Move”. Many predict that it is a prelude to the former deputy prime minister replacing Khalid as the Selangor MB. Although widely praised as an administrator, Khalid was criticised in some quarters (especially within his own party) as being politically naïve.
Suddenly, the MB who has also often been characterised as prudent, frugal and sometimes outright stingy in administering state monies has agreed to a water deal that on the surface seems to have shortchanged the Selangor government and bowed down to demands by the federal government.
Granted, RM9.65 billion is exactly what he offered the concessionaires previously. But the MoU also includes the federal government’s promise of an additional RM2 billion (a sweetener if you will) to “facilitate” the deal with the concessionaires. He has also agreed on the resumption of the Langat 2 project that he had previously scoffed at as wasteful and unnecessary.
Who will eventually pocket this sweet RM2 billion? Neither party has confirmed but if this is just another way of padding the pockets of the recalcitrant concessionaires and induce them to OK the deal, then it would seem that Khalid is paying over the odds.
Strange for an MB who is legendary for his penny-pinching ways.
This would be on top of the billions that will be spent on Langat 2. Bottom line, more capital expenditure spent on Selangor’s water infrastructure that could ultimately be borne by Selangor taxpayers.
Lost amid the political hullabaloo is that nobody clarified the root cause of Selangor’s water woes. Is it a supply or a demand problem? Is it weather related or caused by ageing pipes? Will throwing more money and building more treatment plants solve the problem? Has the water issue been exaggerated for political and financial gains?
After the MoU, it was announced that the federal government will fork out RM900 million to implement “mitigation projects”, one of which is the construction of a retention pond that would increase the volume of raw water by 600 million litres a day and ensure sufficient supply of water to Selangor residents until 2050 while Langat 2 is being built.
Tiger is taken aback. Why weren’t these ponds built much earlier? It would look like the Selangor residents have been held to political ransom if these ponds could indeed alleviate their water problems for the next 35 years.
Then there’s the small matter of Khalid’s RM67 million dispute with Bank Islam over a loan that has culminated in an out-of-court settlement. Scant details have been released but the timing of the settlement has raised eyebrows. Even though there is no proof of impropriety, that hasn’t stopped rumours of backroom dealings.
Timing is everything and Tiger is not a big believer in coincidences. Banks are not known for their generosity and understanding, especially in recovering multi-million dollar debts.
If it is true that Bank Islam is settling for a lower amount, why has the bank agreed to a haircut? It would be interesting to know how big the haircut is, although judging by the latest pictures of the MB, he could do with a visit to the local barber pretty soon.
Has Khalid made a proverbial deal with the devil to extricate himself from a financial and political cul-de-sac?
Anwar Ibrahim
He has made some bold moves after Anwar’s Kajang move and signing the water deal. He has announced his candidacy for the Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) number two post held by Azmin Ali. And more recently, he has declared rather confidently that he will still be Selangor MB after the Kajang by-election.
Could it be that he is privy to some kind of information that Anwar won’t be able to stand for the vacant Kajang seat, let alone win it? Has someone whispered in his ear that the prosecution’s appeal against Anwar’s acquittal in his sodomy case would likely succeed, thus making him ineligible for Kajang?
Does he know something the others don’t, or is the former investment banker just playing the odds?
A desperate last throw of the dice or a shrewd move?
Or is he just confident that once that once the dust settles on this convoluted episode, his credibility will remain intact and his stature as an incumbent MB will see him through this?
The Kajang move seems to have opened the floodgates for all sorts of political maneuvering and behind-the-scenes dealings. It is deeply ironic that Anwar and PKR’s chief strategist Rafizi Ramli are crying foul over the lack of transparency and information over Khalid’s hasty MoU. They did the exact thing with the Kajang Move, blindside their own party cohorts without consulting them on a matter of national interests.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but unfortunately Anwar and Rafizi don’t hold the high moral ground on this issue. Their pots don’t make Khalid’s kettle any sootier.
Tell that to all the Selangor citizens praying for rain.
GRRRRR!
Yesterday: Why did Khalid act unilaterally?
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