KOTA BARU: The recent arrest of two former senior officers of Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB) over a probe into a failed tube wells project in the state has sparked calls for a revamp of the state-owned water company.
Residents here said there was a need for the state government to finally admit shortcomings in AKSB and overhaul its operations.
There were also calls for the state government to plug the incompetencies in resolving hardships faced by the people due to the water issues here.
Some have even called on the federal government to review any further allocation to the state as the water issue still persisted despite billions which had been channelled to the state previously.
It was previously reported that two former senior officers of Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB) were among four people detained by the Malaysian Anti corruption Commission (MACC) over a probe into a failed tube wells project.
The other two people arrested are owners of a company that acted as consultants for the project.
The graft busters have since confirmed that 10 tube well projects undertaken by AKSB that failed to function were now under probe.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the projects, worth some RM300 million, were carried out by AKSB between 2008 and 2015.
Pasir Tumboh constituency Madani community chairman Wan Azizi Wan Ab Ghani said people in Kelantan were concerned over leakaged in the implementation of clean water supply in the state after the issue was highlighted by the media recently.
He said people were beginning to doubt AKSB's ability to fulfill its responsibilities following reports that MACC had detained former senior officials from the state owned company for graft related investigation.
"People here have been suffering from water issues for a long time.
"We were told that tube wells is the way to go but we are now finding out it doesnt work because there is no water deep in the ground too," he said, noting that many villages have been affected with the lack of water for their daily use.
Citing an example, Wan Azizi said water pipes in his village, Kampung Parit Limbat, have not been working for many years but some users still need to pay monthly meter rental bills.
"Some of the villagers have opted to cut off the water supply to their homes due to the lack of water in the pipes.
"I can safely say that almost everyone has made their own arrangements to obtain clean water supply at their own expense.
"This has been happening since 2019," he said.
He said the state government needs to listen to the people's woes and take immediate action to address this issue.
Kelantan online entrepreneur association president Muhafandi Muhamad said the recent arrests by the MACC was evidence of shortcomings involving AKSB.
"This water supply crisis is something that the people of Kelantan have been suffering with for a long time.
"Following the (MACC) exposure, many here are even less confident with AKSB's management of the state's water resources," he said.
Muhafandi said traders in the state were also affected by the issue especially those operating business in the state capital.
He said many of the association's members take their own initiatives by installing tube wells as they do not want to rely on the state water company.
"We all know that AKSB is unable to resolve the water supply issue.
"We often hear about residents being forced to take water from rivers and other sources for their daily needs," he added.
He said many traders had also stopped depending on AKSB as it had failed to provide a reliable service for too long.
"Although the state government has set Year 2030 to solve the water problem in the state, locals here know this is nothing but a pipe dream," he said.