KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Fired up over what it described as unfounded allegations, water utility Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS) has placed full-page advertisements in several major newspapers to rebut Selangor's claims over the ongoing Klang Valley water crisis.
The blame-game between the private company and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government has been going on for months and took a new turn earlier this month when Selangor Mentri Besar mooted a media drive relating their version of events plus a weekly update of the water problem, alleging that the latest disruption was due to SYABAS's poor upkeep leading to faulty pumps in urban Wangsa Maju and Pudu Hulu Baru.
SYABAS has in turn come out with a 15-point statement to counter the allegations and which ran in several national papers over the weekend such as Malay broadsheet Utusan Malaysia, Sinar Harian and the English-language New Straits Times.
"Following the unscheduled water supply disruption in Kuala Lumpur and Gombak due to the failure of Wangssa Maju pumping station on 29 December 2012, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SYABAS) has been continuously accused of unfounded and uncalled for allegations by various parties especially the State Government of Selangor," the company said in the advertorial it titled "Selangor Water Crisis: Get the facts right".
Members of the Selangor state executive council (exco) have launched scathing attacks against the company, a subsidiary of Puncak Niaga, which operates the vast majority of Selangor's water treatment plants and is about 40 per cent owned by Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, who is Selangor Umno treasurer and Malaysia's 31st richest man according to Forbes.
"Never in history a state government refuses and continuously puts constraints on efforts taken for improvements and enhancement of public services that benefit the people," SYABAS stated in its concluding argument, noting that some of the allegations levelled against it had been personal in nature.
The latest disruption affected over 27,000 accounts in the national capital and several satellite towns due to the decline in the water pumping level from the Wangsa Maju pump house by 30 million litre per day (MLD), SYABAS had said.
Supply was restored late last Thursday, after the installation of bypass pipes from Air Dusun Kubong pool to AU3 Baru and AU3 Lama pools were put in.
SYABAS chief executive officer Datuk Ruslan Hassan was reported on January 11 by national newswire Bernama saying the system at the Wangsa Maju pump house was working at the limited level of 180 MLD as compared to 210 MLD previously to avoid damage due to over-pressure.
He was also reported saying the bypass project was only a stop-gap and to ensure that the problem would not recur, another pump house with a capacity of 120 MLD would be built next to the Wangsa Maju pump house.
The tussle for control of treated water supply in the country's most developed state has become major vote fodder in the run-up to Election 2013 after SYABAS raised an alarm last year of a possible crisis in the near future due to the near zero reserves at the state's water treatment plants.
The state has steadfastly opposed the federal government's Langat 2 project, citing the high costs involved that would force the state to increase the tariffs for water and renege on its pledge to provide the utility cheaply, a policy PR had introduced after winning power in Election 2008.
The protracted battle for control of water resources in the country's richest state of Selangor has thrown a spotlight on how much money is at stake in the strategic industry and is potentially another example of Mahathir-era privatisation gone wrong.
It could also tilt the balance in the battle for both Selangor and Kuala Lumpur depending on who voters ultimately blame for any cuts in their water supply. PR parties rule Selangor and control 10 out of 11 parliamentary seats in the Federal Territory.
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