Residents fume over Syabas schedule

Subang Jaya residents unhappy that Syabas deploys tankers when most "able-bodied" residents are at work.

SUBANG JAYA: Residents of Subang Jaya are fuming over the timing of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd’s (Syabas) schedule in deploying its water tankers to UEP Subang Jaya (USJ).

Syabas today sent three jumbo water tankers to USJ 4 at about 2pm following a disruption of water supply believed to have been caused by contamination at the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant in Dengkil.

Residents in the area, however, were not happy with the timing as most “able-bodied” residents were at work.

“I am 55 years old, my youngest is only 5 (years old). My two older sons are in their 20s and they are both at work.

“I am happy that the trucks are here, but it would have been a lot easier if my two sons were able to help,” Kak Wani, a resident said while filling two five-litre bottles.

Danny Yap, a 55-year-old man who overheard Kak Wani’s lament, agreed with her, adding that most residents who were available at this time of the day were senior citizens who were not physically able to carry the heavy pails and containers filled with water.

“Those of us here are considered lucky, at least we can carry one or two containers home. Imagine households where the elderly are unable to carry such a heavy load or are not even able to walk, and their children are at work. What are they going to do?”

Mohammad Firdaws, a Form Four student from SMK USJ 4, said he had to skip extra-curricular activities in school to help his mother.

“I was supposed to go for training, but this was more important. I don’t know what I am going to tell my coach tomorrow, though. I hope he understands,” said Mohammad Firdaws.

A representative from the office of Selangor Assemblywoman Hannah Yeoh, said that she understood the residents’ dissatisfaction.

The rep, identified only as Jane, explained that today was the third day that Syabas had started utilising jumbo tankers.

“It is a little inconvenient for residents to come out and collect the water, but the volume of water is a lot more. The jumbo tankers can reach out to a lot more people than the small tankers,” Jane told FMT.

Semenyih River is the main waterway from the Semenyih dam to the treatment plant. The facility produces more than 630 million litres of water daily.

It was reported that the Semenyih Hi-Tech Industrial Park was the source of the contamination.

The affected districts are Hulu Langat (Bangi, Bandar Bukit Mahkota, Kajang, Semenyih and Riching); Kuala Langat (Morib, Banting, Bandar Saujana Putra, Bandar Rimbayu and Telok Panglima Garang); Petaling (USJ 1 to USJ 27, Puchong, Seri Kembangan and Serdang); and Sepang (Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Bandar Nusa Putra, Putra Heights, Pulau Meranti, Kota Warisan, Bandar Bukit Puchong and Sungai Merab).