ALOR STAR: The Kedah Menteri Besar's Office today denied that Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor's offer to sell treated water to Penang from the Lubuk Buntar Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Kulim is a gimmick to the Sungai Bakap by-election.
In a statement today, the office said that the offer was based on the fact that, after the upgrade of the WTP in September, there would be a surplus of treated water that could be sold.
"The supply of treated water from two WTPs in the Bandar Baharu District, namely Lubuk Buntar Lama (30 million litres per day) and Lubuk Buntar Baru (25 million litres per day), will total 55 million litres per day.
"Based on the projected demand for treated water in Bandar Baharu district until 2030, there will be a surplus or margin of treated water from these two WTPs amounting to 20 million litres per day.
"The menteri besar believes that 10 million litres per day of this surplus treated water can be sold to Penang for use in the Nibong Tebal area, which is 16 kilometres from Bandar Baharu," the statement said.
The statement also said that the Lubuk Buntar Lama WTP, which had been operational since 1992, used to supply water to the Seberang Prai Selatan district, and the pipelines were still in place at the border between the two states, specifically in Permatang Pasir, Bandar Baharu.
The Menteri Besar's Office also denied claims by Kedah Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid that the offer was merely an effort by Sanusi to win votes in the Sungai Bakap by-election.
"These allegations are baseless and not founded on actual facts," it added.
Sanusi, in his speech at the launch of Perikatan Nasional's election machinery for the Sungai Bakap by-election on Saturday, invited Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to negotiate with him to buy excess treated water from the Lubuk Buntar WTP.
In response, Mahdzir, who is also a former menteri besar, asserted that Sanusi should prioritise resolving the state's water supply issues first before considering to sell the resource to Penang.
He described the idea as unrealistic, given that the state currently had no water reserve margin.