Malaysians pouring water down the drain, says minister

The government says the average Malaysian is using 50 litres more than what the UN recommends a day.

KUALA LUMPUR: An average Malaysian uses 219 litres of water a day, way above the 165 litres recommended by the United Nations, a minister said.

Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the people need to stop wasting water.

“We need to lower the amount, we are targeting for each individual to use 180 litres a day by 2025,” he said when summing up the ministry’s policies during the debate on the royal address.

Tuan Ibrahim said the wastage contributed to the high cost paid by the government to operators treating water.

He said his ministry was carrying out research to educate Malaysians on the importance of saving water.

During the debate, some MPs recommended harvesting rain water to wash cars and water plants, while others said untreated water could be channelled to flush toilets.

On Feb 4, the then Pakatan Harapan government had proposed to raise water tariffs.

The proposal received mixed response from the public, although academics said higher rates would allow the government to upgrade infrastructure and provide better services to consumers.

The current water tariff for domestic consumers is RM1.38 per 1,000 litres of water. - FMT