PUTRAJAYA: The Federal government is mulling two options to resolve the water crisis in Selangor, should the PKR-led state government fail to implement its water industry migration process by July.
The first option, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister (KeTTHA) Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili , is to invoke Section 114 of the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) 2006, which enables the federal government to take action for the sake of national interest.
“For the first option, is the zero water reserve margin in Selangor persists, and the state government still refuses to strike a deal with Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (SPLASH), we will consider using Section 114 of WSIA where the Federal government can take over the water management in Selangor,” he said.
The second option, he said, will see the Federal government evaluate whether to extend or terminate Selangor’s water industry restructuring agreement.
“If there is no extension, the agreement can be terminated and we go back to square one. Hence, the Federal government will play its role and will most probably offer to manage the water issues in Selangor through the Act,” he said.
Maximus said the Federal government has done everything it could to address the water issues in Selangor and is still waiting for the state government to resolve the deadlock over the SPLASH stake acquisition.
“They have to make an offer to SPLASH as this is based on the ‘winning buyer, winning seller’ principle. The Federal government cannot simply interfere and set the price for them.
“When you have set the price and it is agreed, then come to us and tell how much you need from the Federal government. However, the Selangor government has yet to make an offer to SPLASH and the main agreement has been extended three times already in the past two years,” he said.
Maximus was speaking to the press after presenting Excellent Service Award to the ministry’s staff today.
Also present was KeTTHA secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang.
The Selangor government has been given until July to agree to implement the water migration process to prevent the water crisis in the state from worsening.
Zaini was previously quoted as saying that if Selangor declined to make the decision, there would be numerous implications, including the Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant, which has completed the process of testing and commissioning, being left idle.
The Langat 2 LRA is able to supply a 10 per cent margin of Selangor’s water storage amounting to 565 million litres per day (MLD).