DPM mistaken, says S'gor, water issue still simmering

The Selangor government said today there will be no solution to the water issue between it and the federal government until an agreement is reached on the cost of taking over the assets from the various water concessionaires.

"I want to say that this is no small matter. The cost of taking over the water assets is between RM5 billion and RM9 billion," Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim (right) told a press conference after chairing the state government's weekly exco meeting in Shah Alam.

Because of the issues surrounding the assets takeover, Khalid said, both parties needed to engage in more detailed negotiations before a solution could be found.

However, both sides have in principle agreed to return the management of water to the state as per the aspirations of the rakyat.

An officer from the menteri besar's office also confirmed that there was a freeze on water projects in the state, including the Langat 2 water transfer facility, until the takeover of water assets was concluded.

Explaining the freeze, the officer reiterated the state government's stand that it was more important for the state to restructure its water management before moving on to further developing it.

According to the officer, the federal government's allegation that there is an imminent water crisis in Selangor was unfounded.

“They say we will face a water crisis in 2014, but our findings do not indicate this,” said the officer.

Stumbling block to water deal

Khalid's political secretary, Faekah Husin (below), who is directly involved in the discussions, told Malaysiakini that the stumbling block to the water deal lay with the water concessionaires who were demanding more money than what the state was willing to offer.

“We offered RM5.4 billion, but they want RM8 billion,” said an exasperated Faekah.

That amount, she said, was unreasonable since the state actually owned water assets in excess of RM10 billion, on which valuation was not previously done, that were being put on the bargaining table by the concessionaires.

The state's assets, she said, should be taken off the astronomical sum that the concessionaires were seeking.

The federal government, she said, was claiming that the state only owned water assets to the tune of RM1 billion.

Refuting the federal government claim, Faekah said, “We have our own audit of the unvalued assets, which include roads and other infrastructure.”

DPM said another thing

Khalid's comments follow the announcement made by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (right) that the Selangor government had given its consent for the Langat 2 water treatment plant to be built in the state, “'bringing to an end an impasse on the matter between the state and the federal government”.

He alleged that Khalid gave his consentduring the 5th National Waters Resources Council meeting in Putrajaya that day.

The Langat 2 plant will treat raw water supplied through a tunnel from Pahang and is said to be needed to meet the water needs of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya till 2025.

The federal government is seeking to fast-track the water deal and the Langat 2 water transfer facility because it says that the region will suffer a water shortage come 2014 - which the Selangor government has consistently denied.