’1Malaysia water tanks a rip-off’

Government planners appeared to have ignored the fact that Sabah experiences long periods of drought and supplying tanks to villagers to collect rain water was absurd.

KOTA KINABALU: Something is not right over the distribution of 40,000 plastic 1Malaysia water tanks to consumers in sparsely developed Sabah and Sarawak.

Kota Kinabalu MP Hiew King Cheu, an engineer by training, said Budget 2013 appeared to value the tanks at five times the market price at RM2,500 per unit when it was well known that individual units cost only RM500.

He said the high cost for something as basic as a water tank to residents in semi-rural and rural areas in the state where piped water has yet to reach them is troubling.

Hiew said that a random check conducted here revealed that a water tank similar to the 1Malaysia water tank cost only RM500.

“This plus transport cost and reasonable profit, it [government-supplied tank] should not be that expensive. Now this is five times the cost and there should be an explanation,” he said.

Budget 2013 showed that a sum of RM100 million had been allocated to Sabah and Sarawak to supply 40,000 plastic water tanks for the rural districts to store rain water. This works out to RM2,500 per tank.

Most of the rural districts and even some semi-urban areas in Sabah lack piped water supply. The supply of plastic water tanks is seen as a pre-election sweetener much like the distribution of zinc sheets to those living in dilapidated shacks in rural areas.

It is also seen as a short-term solution to the problem facing thousands in the resource-rich state that was rated in the 2010 World Bank report as having the highest number of poverty-stricken people in the country.

Hiew said the government’s new budget does not seem to address this fact.

“There is a need for treated water for the rural districts. Rain water collected and stored in water tank is usually not clean,” he said, adding that the tanks could become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

He said government planners appeared to have ignored the fact that there were long periods of drought in parts of the state and supplying tanks to villagers to collect rain water was absurd.