Water war – Penang backs RM100 mil compensation for Kedah
Ramasamy emphasised that it was not a case of Penang not wanting to pay, but it should not be paying when water was being drawn from its side of the river.
(FMT) – Kedah deserves a compensation of RM100 million for protecting the water catchment areas in the Ulu Muda forests to supply water to the northern states, said Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy.
However, he said, the compensation must come from the federal government and not the states using the water, like Penang.
“Kedah deserves compensation for being the ‘Rice Bowl of Malaysia’. It should urgently join the water supply restructuring initiatives of the federal government.
“By doing so, it can write off water debts, something that was done by Pahang when its RM2 billion debt was written off by the federal government,” said Ramasamy.
He was referring to a previous proposal that a RM100 million federal grant be given to Kedah to preserve its water catchment areas.
In fact, he said, Penang’s water supply debts were novated when the Mengkuang Dam was upgraded free of charge recently for RM1.2 billion.
Yesterday, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Nor said he was open to negotiations with the Penang government, facilitated by the federal government, on raw water payments to his state.
He was responding to Ramasamy’s earlier remark that Penang would not pay a single sen to Kedah for drawing water from its side of Sungai Muda.
Ramasamy said Penang was ready to talk but it would not negotiate on the cost as requested by Sanusi.
He said he was not sure why Kedah was delaying participation in the water supply restructuring initiatives with the federal government.
“If this is done, Kedah will get a good deal. There is no point blaming the Penang government all the time. We are not stealing water from Kedah, we are only drawing water on our side of Sungai Muda.
“I don’t understand why Sanusi is so hard on Penang. Maybe it is because we are on the other side of the political divide. We are open to discussions but negotiations are out,” he said.
Ramasamy emphasised that it was not a case of Penang not wanting to pay, but it should not be paying when water was being drawn from its side of the river.
