Pua to Selangor MB: Why promise if you can’t deliver?

(The Malay Mail) – Selangor’s insistence that it does not control water services in the state only serves to cast doubt on its previous assurances that there will not be further serious supply disruptions, said DAP’s Tony Pua in his latest salvo at the administration.

Firing back at Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in an exchange instigated by the former, Pua pointed out that the state government had boldly proclaimed earlier this month that residents will not have to face another round of water rationing despite an ongoing dry spell.

“The question is – why did the state government give the ironclad ‘guarantee’ if it now gives the excuse of ‘no control over Syabas?  Did the state secure a ‘guarantee’ from Syabas before issuing the ‘guarantee’ to the public?” the PJ Utara MP said in a statement today.

Syabas  in the acronym state water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor.

The DAP lawmaker pointed out that the state had adequate time to take the necessary precautions to prevent a repeat of the water crisis that left millions of households in the Klang Valley with dry taps in March.

He added that while Selangor had trumpeted the “guarantee” that the state would not experience another crippling water supply disruption, it was silent when asked to explain the “severe shortages” in parts various areas that were making headlines.

“Hence when water shortages occur within days after the guarantee issued, does that not make the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government and its elected representatives look like complete fools?” Pua asked.

He also accused Khalid of conflating criticism of the supply disruptions with that of the water utility takeover, saying that he remained fully supportive of the Selangor mentri besar’s attempt to restructure the service.

Accused of providing “non-constructive” and “provocative” criticism over the issue, Pua reiterated the suggestion by fellow DAP lawmaker Ong Kian Ming for the formation of a high-level water task force comprising of the MB, key elected representatives and state officials to solve the supply problem.

But he said this, as well as other contingency measures such as clamping down on illegal car wash operators and educating the public on conservation went unheeded.

“Therefore, there have been no lack of ‘constructive proposals’ from the DAP or Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives.  The problem isn’t the lack of ‘constructive proposals’, it is that they seem to fall on deaf ears.

Yesterday evening, Khalid took aim at Pua over the latter’s demand that “heads must roll” for the incompetence behind the state’s water supply disruption.

Khalid protested that the demand was unwarranted as his administration did not yet control Syabas, whom he said were the ones at fault for the ongoing supply problem.

On Wednesday, Syabas warned residents in Gombak, Petaling and Klang of possible water disruptions due to alleged low-levels of raw water in Sungai Selangor, affecting up to 157,000 users

Selangor ― which also supplies water to the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya ― previously enforced rationing from February to April this year after water levels at the main state dam plunged due to an unusually long dry spell.

Selangor’s water supply situation is among issues that have left Khalid increasingly isolated from his own PKR as well as allies DAP and PAS.

Earlier this year, he was the subject of political manoeuvring by PKR ostensibly to remove him as MB, but escaped after the purported plan to install Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his place fell through.

Khalid’s handling of two hot potato issues — the state Islamic authorities seizure of 300 Malay- and Iban-language bibles and his apparent support for a proposed highway being opposed by state residents — has also led to increasing attacks from DAP, in particular.

DAP has claimed that PR may lose Selangor back to Barisan Nasional in the next general election if Khalid continues in the manner that he was administering the state.

Although once lauded as a technocrat, Khalid is now being criticised for making unilateral decisions without consulting allies in PR.