BANDAR BAHARU: Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has been urged to prioritise solving the water supply problem in the state than to assist Penang over a similar problem.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the water issues in Kedah should be the primary concern of the state government.
"To the Kedah Menteri Besar, he should leave the water supply issue in Sungai Bakap to Penang for the Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to handle.
"Instead, he should focus on the water problems in Kedah first. I will work with him (MB), and he should assist us," he told a press conference after launching the Jiwa Komuniti MADANI Programme at Kulim Bandar Baharu today.
Before this, Muhammad Sanusi, in a speech during the Sungai Bakap state by-election, was reported to have offered Penang to purchase water from Kedah upon completion of the Lubuk Buntar Water Treatment Plant (LRA).
Elaborating further, Saifuddin Nasution, who is also the Kedah Development Action Council chairman, said that several areas in Kedah, including Merbok, Sungai Petani and Bandar Baharu, are facing water issues due to low pressure and frequent supply disruptions.
He said that five projects involving the building and upgrading of water treatment plants (LRA) are being carried out in Kedah to address the water supply issues in the state.
The projects included the Lubuk Buntar LRA, which involves an allocation of RM60 million.
"When completed, the Lubuk Buntar LRA can supply 32 million litres of water daily to Kedah," he said.