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Monday, January 14, 2013

Tee Keat 'denied entry' to Wangsa Maju pump house


Pandan MP Ong Tee Keat has claimed to have been barred from entering the Wangsa Maju pump house because he ‘is a politician’.

A breakdown in equipment has disrupted water supply to Pandan, Gombak, Wangsa Maju and Ampang since Dec 29.

NONE“Personally, I feel the reason was quite unacceptable ... they are not allowing this (issue) to be politicised,” he said when contacted yesterday.

“Actually, as a trained (mechanical) engineer, I wanted first-hand information.”

Saying he is not interested in pointing fingers and only wants a solution, he said some residents have not had access to tap water or emergency supply via water tankers.

Ong said he had met senior officials of water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) on Jan 2, and was told that 15,000 to 20,000 households in Pandan are affected.

Volunteers have since stepped in, delivering 30,000 gallons of water each day to residents who have not received supply from Syabas’ water tanks.

“On Jan 5, our locals - just a small group - mooted the idea of forming their own squad, but just for a small area,” Ong said.

“I said it would be good to mobilise more people, and managed to get their support. That’s how we got started.”

The volunteers run four vehicles around Pandan, from 8am until late night, each making about 10 trips a day, he said.

In addition, the coordinator has offered his business phone number as a hotline to receive complaints - 03-8888 0000.

“The problem is, with the volume of water we are dispensing, we have to be reactive. We can only act on complaints because we don’t have the schedule as to where and when certain areas are going to suffer a shortage,” Ong said.

Life without water

C Sudev, a member of the Joint Management Board at the Bella Vista Condo in Ampang, complained that he could not get information from Syabas on when the water tanker would arrive.

He said the water tankers have arrived only twice - on Jan 7 and Jan 12 - since supply was cut on Jan 5.

NONE“When we contact Syabas’ call centre, 80 percent of the time no one picks up the phone and 20 percent of the time - when they pick up the phone - they really can’t (tell us when the tankers are next due). There is no proper timetable or anything like that,” he said.

When the trucks did arrive on Jan 12 about 11pm, he said residents had to carry pails to the tanker and back to their homes. Requests for the water to be pumped directly into the water tank at the condo were not entertained.

“It’s a four-storey walk-up condo. No lifts, so can you imagine carrying a few buckets ... It is good exercise though,” he said.

Another Ampang resident, Theresa Ten, 53, said the water pressure is insufficient to deliver supply to the tank of her double-storey house.

However, as there is a trickle of water at night from a tap in the garden, she is able to fill another tank overnight, keeping watch in case of an overflow.

Aiyo suffer-lah ... This morning (Sunday) I woke up at about 5am to carry all the water to the second floor,” she said.

“Every day I’ve had to rush for the water and monitor if the tank is full or if the water is running. Aiyo, I cannot sit properly. I had to keep watch on the water.”

Chong Ya Li, a Pandan Jaya resident, said she and her mother have been carrying four buckets of water each day up to her fourth-floor walk-up unit.

She has resorted to bathing at home in the morning, and then at a friend’s home at night before returning home.

“Life without water is worse than life without electricity. Without water, you can’t bathe, flush the toilet or wash clothes. Without electricity, it’s just a little hot,” she said.

She added that water supply had been cut since Jan 30, but that Syabas had placed a water tank outside her block of flats a week ago.

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