Selangor water perks go down the drain, so will our support!
Rakyat Marhaen
In 2010, when Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim was still hailed as the prudent, honest and hardworking Menteri Besar of Selangor, he successfully led a campaign calling on the federal government to conclude the restructuring of the Selangor water industry, which would effectively allow the state to take over the water management from four private concessionaires. The Minister of Energy, Water and Green Technology then was clearly unresponsive to the calls for the restructuring process to be expedited; much to Khalid’s and the rakyat’s frustration. The height of the campaign was a rally on 5 December 2010 at the National Mosque where some 10,000 demonstrators came to support Selangor’s takeover of the water services industry and witnessed Khalid in submitting a memorandum with over 250,000 signatures to the then Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, to endorse the deprivatisation of water services.
While Khalid may not always make popular decisions throughout his tenure as the Menteri Besar, his policy on water was always a hit amongst the rakyat. After all, no one can deny that only the conclusion of the restructuring process would ensure negligible disruptions to supply of raw and treated water for all types of users; efficient and uninterrupted water services at reasonable tariffs; closure to lopsided concession agreements, grossly in favour of water concessionaires; and return of all water related assets and affairs to the state government and the rakyat in terms of power and control, and water shares respectively. The Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA 2006) prescribes the return of control of water assets to the state government following the privatisation onslaught that swept Selangor’s water industry between 1994 and 2000, usurping what should belong to the rakyat in the process.
Khalid was personally involved in working out the valuation and other corporate finance stuffs in particular to determine the equity compensation to take over the four concession companies (by applying a 12% non-compounded return of equity per annum) amounting to RM2 billion out of the total price tag of RM9.65 billion. This action alone helped save Selangor millions of ringgit worth of financial consultancy and advisory fees. Based on his financial projections, he was very clear of the end results that should be achieved which among others include:
– The continuation of the free water scheme (up to the first 20 metre cube a month) for household users in Selangor. There were also discussions to extend this programme to Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
– Issuance of free water shares for the benefits of eligible Selangoreans once the restructuring is completed, at the IPO exercise of the new state-owned water company
– No water tariff hikes for the first three to four years following the completion of the restructuring. Any adjustment subsequently would not be more than 12%-15% every three years.
– Improve Selangor’s non-revenue water level which stands at 35% (and escalating)
Well, that was during Khalid’s days. In the present time under the leadership of Azmin Ali, efforts made on water restructuring have been “watered down” drastically. Within weeks of his takeover, Azmin announced that he would review all deals made by his predecessor including water.
There were even threats by PKR defacto head Anwar Ibrahim (now jailed and in pain, according to his family) to reveal those who he alleged have benefited from the deal.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1182430
Of course we now know that it was an empty threat to justify the lies propped up by PKR against Khalid for which they had to make a public apology in court recently.
Back to the water issue. After ten months of delaying tactics, populist antics and political gimmicks, Azmin signed a Supplemental Agreement with the federal government on the eve of Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. A host of events leading up to the Supplemental Agreement would suggest that he is in fact at his wit’s end, unable to figure out what to do to conclude the whole restructuring process. While it is unclear whether he has finally figured out the process, Azmin boldly announced a few days ago a plan to review the free water programme and warned a possibility of a tariff increase by a whopping 25%!
These statements do not quite match his earlier pledges to build a government that cares for the people, beyond politics and certainly a U-turn from his December 2014 grand illusion to increase the monthly capping of free water to 40 metre cube. So if Azmin has his way, Selangor households will soon have to pay for their first 20 cubic metre of treated water supply at a higher rate and may even see the same water players running the show. Well thank you very much YAB Dato’ Menteri Besar. But when the water perks go down the drain, so will our support.
