The Selangor may have finally managed to get private concessionaires to accept its RM9.65 billion offer in the takeover of the state's water services story. But the price tag could still balloon up to RM14 billion.
PKR's Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen said Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had informed Pakatan Rakyat representatives of this at a briefing yesterday.
"He (Khalid) said that the water concessionaires have no choice but to accept the RM9.65 billion offer.
"But when I pressed further on the issue of international arbitration, he conceded that the international arbitration clause actually allows the water concessionaires to ask for more money.
"And if the arbitrators find in favour of the water companies, the deal could balloon to RM14 billion," Wong said in a Facebook posting.
The briefing at the state secretariat building yesterday evening was to bring Pakatan representatives up to speed on the Selangor and federal governments signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the matter.
Pakatan representative had criticised the move as they were not informed before hand when out of the blue news broke that it had taken place.
Khalid had justified keeping the Pakatan representatives in the dark earlier about the MOU, citing the need to prevent insider trading, said Wong Chen.
"However when I asked him (Khalid) during their weeks of negotiations, were BN cabinet members also forced to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent insider trading, he said he didn't know," he said.
Make MOU public, MB urged
The MOU will see Selangor take over the state's water service in exchange for federal government consent for theLangat 2 water treatment plant, which could cost up to RM4.5 billion.
Wong Chen said Pakatan representatives were not shown the MOU yesterday but only notes of its content.
However, he said the representatives had pressed Khalid to make the document public and the menteri besar promised to take this up with Putrajaya.
"When (Selangor speaker) Hannah Yeoh and I pressed the menteri besar to commit to making the MOU public, his staff told him that it was 'secret'.
"Nevertheless he (Khalid) said he will use his powers as menteri besar to make it available for all very soon.
"He then said that in Putrajaya he had read out the terms to the media, so he don't see why it shouldn't be made public," said Wong Chen.
He then lamented that the lack of transparency had hurt Pakatan and urged speedy public disclosure of the document.
Khalid in the briefing also denied a Star report quoting him as saying that PKR leaders had lobbied to push up the payment to concessionaires from the offer of RM9.65 billion.
"To this he said he was misquoted and his words were twisted by the press.
"I suggested that if that is the case, he must retract his statements immediately to the media. He said he will do it when he finds the appropriate time for that," said Wong Chen.
Another briefing is scheduled for next week as several MPs were not informed of yesterday's meeting.
PKR's Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen said Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had informed Pakatan Rakyat representatives of this at a briefing yesterday.
"He (Khalid) said that the water concessionaires have no choice but to accept the RM9.65 billion offer.
"But when I pressed further on the issue of international arbitration, he conceded that the international arbitration clause actually allows the water concessionaires to ask for more money.
"And if the arbitrators find in favour of the water companies, the deal could balloon to RM14 billion," Wong said in a Facebook posting. The briefing at the state secretariat building yesterday evening was to bring Pakatan representatives up to speed on the Selangor and federal governments signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the matter.
Pakatan representative had criticised the move as they were not informed before hand when out of the blue news broke that it had taken place.
Khalid had justified keeping the Pakatan representatives in the dark earlier about the MOU, citing the need to prevent insider trading, said Wong Chen.
"However when I asked him (Khalid) during their weeks of negotiations, were BN cabinet members also forced to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent insider trading, he said he didn't know," he said.
Make MOU public, MB urged
The MOU will see Selangor take over the state's water service in exchange for federal government consent for theLangat 2 water treatment plant, which could cost up to RM4.5 billion.
Wong Chen said Pakatan representatives were not shown the MOU yesterday but only notes of its content.
However, he said the representatives had pressed Khalid to make the document public and the menteri besar promised to take this up with Putrajaya.
"When (Selangor speaker) Hannah Yeoh and I pressed the menteri besar to commit to making the MOU public, his staff told him that it was 'secret'.
"Nevertheless he (Khalid) said he will use his powers as menteri besar to make it available for all very soon.
"He then said that in Putrajaya he had read out the terms to the media, so he don't see why it shouldn't be made public," said Wong Chen.
He then lamented that the lack of transparency had hurt Pakatan and urged speedy public disclosure of the document.
Khalid in the briefing also denied a Star report quoting him as saying that PKR leaders had lobbied to push up the payment to concessionaires from the offer of RM9.65 billion."To this he said he was misquoted and his words were twisted by the press.
"I suggested that if that is the case, he must retract his statements immediately to the media. He said he will do it when he finds the appropriate time for that," said Wong Chen.
Another briefing is scheduled for next week as several MPs were not informed of yesterday's meeting.
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