Azmin ropes in PM’s help to solve water deal deadlock

(Malay Mail Online) – Datuk Seri Najib Razak will personally meet with Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili to iron out a solution for the Putrajaya-Selangor water agreement, Azmin Ali said today.

The Selangor mentri besar said he had met the Prime Minister during the sidelines of the Council of Rulers’ conference this morning and had spoken to him on the matter.

“I conveyed my concerns to the PM this morning.The Prime Minister gave his assurance he will discuss the issue with Kettha (Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry),” Azmin told reporters when met outside Parliament.

“I have asked the PM to inform the ministry to find an immediate solution. I am sure we can sit down and discuss this,” he added.

Azmin said he told Najib that Selangor would not agree to any amendments to the water agreement which was signed on September 12 last year.

On Tuesday, the Selangor mentri besar said he is willing to discuss the leasing of state land to Putrajaya as part of the controversial water agreement, but stressed that the deal had not expressly stated that state land would be part of the assets to be given to Putrajaya as part of the water restructuring exercise.

A day earlier, Selangor revoked the agreement with Putrajaya following the federal government’s alleged failure to comply with pre-conditions set out by the state government.

Azmin had said the master agreement signed by his predecessor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim could not be carried out as the federal government had already been granted enough time to adhere to Selangor’s conditions.

The Gombak MP said Putrajaya had violated the original terms of the water agreement by asking Selangor to hand over all land where 26,000km of pipes belonging to state water concessionaires are built across the state.