Pakatan ‘toppling’ over water

The water crisis may well be the beginning of the end of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in Selangor.

COMMENT

Water, the basic necessity of all living organisms has evolved into a ‘rare commodity’ in Malaysia. It is humiliating and disgusting that in a tropical country such as ours, we are facing a water shortage in the so-called most developed state in the nation, Selangor.

The ruling coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) howls and throws tantrums at the slightest of movement in Putrajaya. It literally raises eyebrows when somebody in Putrajaya breaks wind, but forgets that it has, over the years, made Selangorians beggars of sorts for water.

PR is more interested in making headlines to strip naked the nation on every possible facet, but when it comes to their own backyard, they blame the Gods for not sending rain and the poor rakyat for abusing water usage.

Come on, you claim to have the best of brains to run the country and can even locate MH370 in a jiffy, don’t tell us that your pea brains could not anticipate the imminent water shortage? After all, PR has run the state since 2008.

If it has not learnt anything since, then how much different can it be than the current ruling dinosaurs? PR leaders and their blind followers are always boasting that they are the best. Yes, best at screwing up the state further in terms of the economy and social well-being of the community.

The economic impact of water rationing is huge. Millions, if not billions, of losses incurred by businesses, regardless of their capacity have been ignored by the state government. The cost of water shortage and rationing will have a chain reaction on the supply and demand mechanisms, both in the service and goods related providers.

PR is barking up the wrong tree for the currently. Just to gain cheap political mileage, it has gone nationwide to denounce the Goods and Services Tax, claiming that it will burden the rakyat.

It is their democratic right but if the GST, corruption and leakages are such a concern to it, then what about the water crisis in its own state which has caused great misery to the rakyat?

Is PR willing to compensate those affected by the water crisis by waiving their property assessments, quit rent, and water bill for the coming two to three years as goodwill in bearing with their incompetence? Having nearly RM3 billion surplus in the state coffers means nothing when your basic necessity is not met.

PR says it is a far-sighted political front. Is it being comical or what? I wonder how it can manage other pressing issues if it can’t even solve the water problem. It only goes on to show that it too, is a lackey bereft of proactive minds.

All it wants is federal power. Taking to the streets, inciting hatred against the government, fault finding, parading memorial services of the dead around the nation, mass rallies and threatening to topple the government through such activities will not solve the water crisis.

A travesty of accountability and transparency

We the rakyat want a fast and permanent solution to our predicament. Can PR roll out an immediate, midterm and long term plan to ensure that there will be no more water disruptions in Selangor?

Don’t go paint the town red and ‘syok sendiri’ when the very people who elected you in are being practically drained dry. Business licenses from local councils have gone up. The parking fee is now being imposed in the Shah Alam Council building.

Parking rates too, are up in council run areas. Obtaining licenses for petty trading is a tedious process. And above all, the water crisis, and all these after PR came into power in Selangor. These were never an issue under the Barisan Nasional government.

Yes, I have always advocated a strong stand against corruption, but then what is the difference when PR disguises its irrelevance and amateurish behaviour under the travesty of accountability and transparency?

Is the state government so moronically ignorant of the difficulties faced by families with toddlers and school-going children, business losses, health issues, extra cost to buy food and bottled water and purchasing expensive water containers?

None of the state leaders, exco, assemblymen and parliamentarians have the guts to come out in the open to declare the amount of water that they have been able to ‘save’ from the rationing exercise.

Have they factored in the hoarding aspect into the cumulative calculations of gross water usage per week or month which can substantiate their claim that the rationing exercise is the only way out?

It is common sense that people tend to double or triple their consumption on the days when supply resumes. They water plants, wash cars and porches, do house cleaning, bathe their pets and spin their laundry more often in a day.

The net result may well be working against the whole idea of rationing. In fact, we may be wasting more.

Please, you smart people in PR, show us the figures in the comparisons with the extrapolated statistics. If you cannot do that, then stop nosing around the backs of other organisations. Smarten up first before opening your gaps.

With the fasting month and Hari Raya around the corner, if the water crisis prolongs, it will only go on to show how ‘illiterate and insensitive’ the PR state government is.

Taking a cue from their hardcore leader, maybe it is time for the rakyat of Selangor to ‘topple’ the state government. After all PR has always said, ‘let’s topple the federal government for their inefficiencies’. So why not do the same in Selangor? At least we will get water.

Nearly 70% of the human body is water, which is more than the popular votes obtained by PR in the last general election. To me this is more vital for my life, not their popular vote!

Narinder Singh is an FMT team member.