‘TONIGHT, LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY NAJIB’: SELANGOR MB TO ANNOUNCE LONG-OVERDUE WATER REVAMP, PROMISES ‘TO CREATE HISTORY AFTER YEARS OF BEING SABOTAGED BY BN’

Kuala Lumpur 8/3/2018 A man fills several plastic containers by a parked water truck at a water filling station near Aeon Big Ampang today. picture razak ghazali

KLANG – Selangor will finalise its water industry restructuring exercise by Friday.

Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said the matter will soon be resolved and an announcement will be made on Friday.

He added that the actual cost involved in the taking over the concession from Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings (Splash) is lower then what was claimed by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at a ceramah on Wednesday night.

Najib had alleged that the Selangor government will purchase Splash for a whopping RM2.7 billion.

“Yesterday, I heard Najib said the state government will fork out RM2.7 billion, a cost that will burden the people, in order to resolve the water issue.

“This is interesting because Najib, when he was the chairman for 1MDB, did not know what had happened to the billions of ringgit missing. And now that he is not in the cabinet, he supposedly knows that we are going to pay RM2.7 billion to resolve the issue.

“Tonight, I want Najib to listen very carefully, and for Umno leaders and the people of Selangor to understand. Tomorrow (Friday) we will create history (after years) of being sabotaged by the (then BN) Federal government.

“God-willing, Aug 3, following change (of government) in Putrajaya, we will conclude the water industry restructuring and takeover which was controlled by the previous (federal) government,” Amirudin said in campaign speech for the Sungai Kandis by-election in Bandar Puteri.

Amirudin, after being sworn in as the Mentri Besar following the 14th general election had pledged to seek immediate solutions to issues surrounding the water industry restructuring in the state.

On Wednesday, Najib in a campaign speech, did not only claim that the Selangor government would purchase Splash for a whopping RM2.7 billion but also alleged that a ‘Tan Sri’, who has a 30 per cent stake in Splash, will benefit handsomely from the purchase.

He said that the Tan Sri is a crony of a top Pakatan Harapan (PH) leader and co-founder of a political party which he did not name.

Last Saturday, Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar had brushed aside a foreign media report suggesting that the federal government is set to pay RM1.9 billion for the takeover of Splash.

Singapore’s Straits Times had reported that a joint-funding deal had been struck, and that the total buyout was set at between RM2.5 billion and RM2.7 billion, and that the Selangor government is expected to fork out between RM600 million and RM800 million.

It was reported that the process of restructuring the state’s water industry had been put on hold because of disagreements between the then PH state administration and BN federal government.

The state government, then led by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, had rejected a proposal for the state government to bear 40 per cent of the cost and the ministry to pay 60 per cent.

Xavier had also said issues over the takeover would be resolved by early August.

– NST