The upgrading works by Syabas that are causing one million Klang Valley dwellers to suffer three days of water cut since Wednesday “are much-delayed” said Selangor exco of environment Elizabeth Wong.
“The upgrading works should be done long ago after the privatization of water assets in 1997. Instead of doing that, Syabas has waited until now to do it,” she said after the Selangor exco meeting yesterday.
She also rebuked Syabas statement to an online news portal that the dispute over restructuring Selangor’s water assets as the reason for the Klang Valley’s frequent, virtauly annual water disruptions.
“The water restructuring plan becomes an easy excuse for Syabas. The real cause is Syabas did not conduct upgrading of water treatment plants as required,” she said.
Syabas corporate affairs director, Abdul Halem Mat Som, had earlier blamed the protracted dispute over the restructuring of Selangor’s water assets for the firm’s inability to invest in solutions to redistribute supply from other plants to the areas affected by this year’s annual water cut.
Wong however noted that Syabas’ cut comes when water storage levels at all five dams in Selangor are high.
“The Sungai Selangor dam is 98.81 percent full while Sungai Tinggi at 99.17 percent. Both the dams make up 60 percent of water supply in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya,” she said.
She urged the Ministry of Energy, Water and Green Technology to review Syabas’ capability in providing decent water service.
On another note, the Selangor government will prosecute the perpetrators of open burning in Johan Setia, Klang.
Wong said private landowners face land confiscation should they are found guilty of allowing open burning on their properties.
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Dr Keith Tan Kay Hin
