Water supply to Felda settlement near Pekan returns after 17 days

Running water has finally returned to Gugusan Felda Chini near Pekan, Pahang after residents were left without water supply since Aug 9.

A spokesperson from Pahang Water Management Bhd (Paip) Pekan's office confirmed that water supply had finally been restored on Monday, a full 17 days after taps ran dry.

They said that water level in Sungai Mentiga which feeds the Chini Water Treatment Plant had been low.

Self-employed resident Ghadafi Bakar is happy that the ordeal is over for now but is concerned that relief will only be temporary.

"The water supply only returned after 17 days on Monday night. This came after heavy rain.

"We are relieved this is over for now, but we do not know for how long we will have running water," he told Malaysiakini.

"If the river water level goes down again the plant won't receive enough water to be filtered, and our taps will run dry again."

Last week, resident Yusof Wahab said the water supply was cut off before the Haj holiday on Aug 9, and the situation had persisted through the school holidays and the holiday season.

Yusof added that residents were unhappy they were not given any advance notice before the sudden cut to the water supply.

He also questioned a lack of response from Paip, Felda management, Pekan MP Najib Abdul Razak and Chini assemblyperson Abu Bakar Harun, saying none of them had come down to the ground to see for themselves.

Najib in a Facebook post blamed the water disruption on Pakatan Harapan and accused the coalition of taking revenge.

"I had announced and approved an RM12 million allocation for the water needs of the local residents. That was before the 14th general election," he had said.

The same area had suffered a significant water shortage in March. - Mkini