KUANTAN: The Pahang government has begun initiatives to replace the aging asbestos cement (AC) pipes with more durable Mild Steel Cement Lining(MSCL) piping across the state.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (BN-Jelai) said to date, Pahang has utilised about 24.2 percent of MSCL piping, and the quality was much better.
"Based on the National Water Services Commission report till 2021, Pahang has a challenging geographical landscape and pipes stretching a length of 15,086km. We are replacing the AC pipes with the new and better quality MSCL.
"Water supply services are one of the main priorities of the state government.
"I visited all of the state's districts with Paip ( Pengurusan Air Pahang Bhd) to hear about the water issues last year and I want to reiterate my commitment to ensure 90 per cent of the water issues in Pahang will be solved in 2026," he said during the winding up speech at the Pahang state assembly today.
Wan Rosdy noted that water supply issues are not limited to Pahang but also occur in other states throughout the country, and some states even have worse water services than Pahang.
He added that the main issue is the low water tariff. The domestic water tariff rate in Pahang has not been revised since 1983.
"The water tariff in Pahang is the second lowest in the country after Penang. The state government continued with the tariff(existing low rate) as it took into account the people's burden.
"Nevertheless, the tariff rate constraint and the increase in operating costs has not stopped Pahang from doing its best in terms of water supply," he said.
Wan Rosdy also said that Pahang was ranked fourth best in terms of complaints regarding water quality for 2020-2021, with a total of 668 complaints compared to some 3,000 complaints received by a neighbouring state.
"We agree, there are still weaknesses and there is definitely room for improvements but this does not mean that the condition and performance of water services in Pahang is bad. Water services still remain as the main focus of the state government till today," he said.
He said 217 projects with a cost of RM2.3 billion have been identified to resolve water problems in Pahang and to date, 82 projects have been completed, 37 are in the midst of construction and the remaining 98 are in the designing stage.
"Projects to overcome the water supply problems in Pahang include replacing aging pipes, overcoming frequent unscheduled water cuts, low water pressure, drop in water reserve margin at water intake plants and new water supply networks," he said.
Meanwhile Wan Rosdy said the state government was committed towards the Malayan Tiger conservation efforts by gazetting the Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve in Jerantut at an area measuring 134,183 ha.
"The state Forestry department has begun to gazette the Gunung Aais forest reserve and Gunung Aais forest reserve (extension) measuring 92,649 ha under the first phase of gazettement as wildlife protection forest through a gazette notice dated May 4 this year. The remaining (gazette) will be done under the second phase.
"We should be proud because this is the first such reserve in Malaysia, and Pahang has taken the lead in the country.
"This reserve area will be one of the carbon credit projects under the Malaysian Forest Fund scheme towards increasing our collective forest conservation efforts," he said.