Who should be blamed?
If water disruption is not curbed, particularly during the Chinese New Year, the one to be blamed would not be the state government, but the BN government.
Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew Daily
I was a victim of the major water disruption last year and therefore, I am very clear about the suffering of the 107,760 residents in the four areas of Klang Valley, who have been suffering from water disruption for two weeks.
How would senior officers, who sit in air-conditioned rooms and receive high pays, understand how torturing it is to look for water and spend additional money on dining outside. How could the people accept it if it is the treatment received by people of a country heading towards a high-income economy and an advanced state?
Similar to the situation of the major water disruption in July last year, the BN government and the Pakatan Rakyat state government once again pointed fingers at each other. The arguments are dazzling, but no solution to the problem is seen.
Many areas in Klang Valley have started to suffer disruption since 28 December last year due to a failure of two pump houses, one in Wangsa Maju and another in Pudu Hulu Baru.
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) shed the responsibility by blaming the increase of water demand and the insufficient of treated water reserve at water treatment stations, while accusing the state government of delaying the approval of the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant Project. The water dam was full at the end of year during the rainy season and thus, people thought that they could get rid of water shortages. Unexpectedly, the pump houses suffered a break down.
This time, Syabas again blamed that the high demand has exceeded the supply of water in the Klang Valley region, causing overuse and overload to the pump houses. Is it everyone’s false but not the water supply company? Shouldn’t it bear the responsible of managing and conducting maintenance?
The management unit of Syabas should take the full responsibility for water supply disruption, including explaining on whether the company has conducted regular maintenance. Even if there is an increase in demand, it should have a backup plan.
The Selangor state government has 30% stake in Syabas, but it does not participate in the management of water supply. The water supply service has long been privatised and people naturally relate the water supply problems to management failure. After all, power execution has always been a problem of government agencies and privatised companies.
In November last year, Umno state assembly members accused the Selangor state government of freezing the RM300 million capital expenditure raised and borrowed by Syabas from the federal government in 2008, causing the company unable to replace water pipes to reduce the 32% of non-revenue water. It has also become the reason of the company for not being able to repair its facilities.
Is the freeze on funds a factor of water disruption? Let’s first take a look at the management performance of Syabas. Since it was privatised in 1997, the company has accumulated losses of up to RM2.9 billion and the CEO of a loss-making company can actually receive an annual salary of RM5 million?
Syabas was supposed to replace a total of 6,000km water pipes but the company has replaced only 600km, and the work has been shelved since 2009. The company will have to face a greater loss if water resources continue to run off and prices will eventually be raised.
Therefore, the frequent water disruption in Klang Valley is no longer simply a problem of shortage, but a problem of water resources and facilities management. It is also the key to prevent a water supply crisis in 2014.
If water disruption is not curbed, particularly during the Chinese New Year, the one to be blamed would not be the state government, but the BN government.
