Current free water for consumers sufficient, says Selangor assemblywoman

(The Rakyat Post) – The free 20 cubic metres of water given to every home in Selangor since 2008 is good enough to ease the people’s burden.

Damansara Utama assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin said the free water had been effective in helping the less fortunate, and there was no need to increase it to 40 cubic metres, as Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali recently suggested.

“Any additional money can be used to help the people through “Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor” programmes. The money can be used to aid the elderly and single mothers in the state,” she told The Rakyat Post.

In making the suggestions recently, Azmin said the state had to first study the costs involved in the move.

“Currently, the cost absorbed by the state government for the free 20 cubic metres of water is RM165 million a year. That amounts to 6.8% of the state budget.

“Besides that, the government should wait for the water restructuring process to be completed before moving forward with any more plans,” she said.

Yeo had also previously voiced her concerns over the free water policy.

Dubbing it a populist move, she said it was not the smartest and most efficient way to manage water in the state.