The meeting was requested by Parti Keadailan Rakyat (PKR, People's Justice Party) Strategic Director, Rafizi Ramli (second from right in the photo below).
However, now with renewed water disruption in Selangor due to senseless politicking, especially by the PKR morons, we residents of Selangor State are suffering again.
Oh yes! These arty farty types continue to blame the effects of the current El Nino which has resulted in a prolonged dry spell affecting the whole country and neighbouring countries in the region but why then only Selangor State has to endure prolonged water disruption and rationing, but not other states?
Below, is a recent Bernama article listing the areas in Selangor State and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur which are affected by the latest water disruptions.
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Unscheduled Water Disruptions Affect Households In KL, Selangor KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Bernama) -- Over 700,000 households in Gombak, Petaling, Klang/Shah Alam, Hulu Langat and here are affected by the unscheduled water disruptions due to low water levels at water treatment plants in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SYABAS) in a statement Thursday said the disruptions were due to the production from the treatment plants could not meet the high demand of water from the areas.
SYABAS said the water supply to the areas would take some time to be restored, depending on the production of treated water from the treatment plants.
Nevertheless, SYABAS would continue deploying its water tanker lorries to distribute treated water to the affected areas.
Following are the list of affected areas:
GOMBAK:
Air Panas Aman Siara Ampang Jaya Ampang Jaya Water Front Andaman Ukay Astana Gemilang AU1-AU5 Balai Polis Gombak Bandar Baru Ampang Bandar Baru Selayang Bandar Baru Wangsa Maju Beverly Height Bukit Antarabangsa Bukit Idaman/Idaman Hills Bukit Indah Bukit Lela Bukit Setiawangsa Bukit Wangsa Mas Dagang Jaya/Halaman Indah Dataran Ukay Desa Bakti Desa Hussein Onn Desa Lembah Pantai Desa Melawati Desa Minang Gombak Setia Harmonis Industri Bolton Intan Baiduri Jalan Ampang Jalan Chung Hwa Gombak Jalan Genting Kelang Jalan Hulu Kelang Jalan Kepong Jinjang Baru Jinjang Selatan Kampung Ampang Campuran Kampung Ampang Indah Kampung Baru Ampang Kampung Cangkat Kampung Dato Mufti Kampung Datuk Keramat Kampung Kemensah Kampung Kerdas Kampung Klang Gates Selayang Utama Sering Ukay Setapak Jaya Sri Edaran Kepong Sri Gombak Sri Melati Sri Murni Taman Ampang Indah Taman Ampang Mewah Taman Ampang Prima Taman Ampang Utama Taman Andaman Wangsa Maju Taman Beringin Jinjang Taman Bidara Taman Bukit Ampang Taman Bukit Ampang Permai Taman Bukit Jaya Taman Bukit Jubina Taman Bukit Kemensah Taman Bukit Mas Melawati Taman Bukit Mewah Taman Bukit Mulia Taman Bukit Utama Taman Bunga Raya Taman Cahaya Indah Taman Cemerlang Taman Danau Kota Taman DAR Taman Desa Setapak Taman Fadason Taman Faizura Ampang Taman Gombak Jaya Taman Grandview Ampang Jaya Taman Halaman/KESUMA Taman Harmonis Taman Hijau Taman Hillview Taman Ibukota Taman Kamariah Taman Kelab Ukay Taman Kemensah Indah Taman Kepong Taman KOSAS Taman Melati Taman P. Ramlee
KLANG/SHAH ALAM:
Bandar Putera Batu 3 Shah Alam Batu 8 Bukit Kemuning Bukit Naga Bukit Jelutong Jlan Harum Estate Jalan Hulubalang Jalan Kebun Jalan Kebun Nanas Jalan Sellathevan Kampung Baru HICOM Kampung Kebun Bunga Kampung Lombong Kota Kemuning Lorong Seri Gambut Puncak Perdana Putra Height Seksyen 1-3, Shah Alam Seksyen 7-9, Shah Alam Seksyen 11-13, Shah Alam Seksyen 16, Shah Alam Seksyen 22, Shah Alam Seksyen 25 (Axis), Shah Alam Seksyen 26-28, Shah Alam Seksyen 32,33, Shah Alam Taman Alam Impian, Seksyen 35, Shah Alam Bukit Rimau Berjaya Park Johan Setia Sri Lembayung Subang Mas Taman Alam Nyata Taman AMJ Taman Cahaya SPK Taman D'Kayangan Taman Desa Kemuning Taman Desa Latania Taman Kandis Permai Taman Samarinda Taman Sentosa Taman Sunway Suria Taman Subang Impian
PETALING:
Whole area of Subang USJ
KUALA LUMPUR:
Flat DBKL Dato Keramat Jalan Padang Tembak Jalan Semarak Jalan Gurney Kementah Pulapol Wisma Tanah JUPEM Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) FELDA Pusat Latihan Telekom Jalan U-Thant Jalan Ampang Hilir Taman Pandan Jaya Taman Cempaka Taman Bakti Taman Nirwana Kampung Pandan Dalam Taman Cahaya Pandan Cahaya Taman Dagang Taman Shamelin Perkasa MINDEF Taman Tenaga Taman Miharja Taman Kobena Desa Pandan Flat Sri Melaka Jalan Kent 1-7 Taman Putra Sulaiman Taman Pandan Utama Bandar Sri Permaisuri
--BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=1049436
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In May, The Star carried this article by Barisan Nasional (National Front) member of Parliament, Khairi Jamaluddin
Smokescreening won't work this time by khairy jamaluddin
Instead of masking its missteps, Pakatan Rakyat should take some responsibility for the water debacle in Selangor.
MY article published in The Star on April 29 sought to provide clarity over what has proved to be a national embarrassment – that it is 2014 and the richest state in this federation cannot supply water adequately to its people.
I did so, not for some cheap political point scoring but because of Pakatan Rakyat’s continued attempts to blame the Federal Government when the facts really point to the state government’s actions leading us to this unfortunate juncture. And more to the point, in an issue concerning something as basic as water, the people deserve to know how we found ourselves in this mess and how we get out of it.
The article was premised upon two very simple facts. First, the Selangor government’s refusal to allow for tariff increase as provided for in the concession agreements – alongside its failed attempts to purchase water assets – has led to the water companies, especially Syabas, failing to spend adequately to maintain the distribution system and reduce leakages or non-revenue water (NRW).
Second, its refusal to approve the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant since 2009 deprived the state of clean water supply it would have otherwise received. (If you remember nothing else from this article, remember that).
True to form, the Pakatan PR machinery moved into overdrive and within a day, we saw two responses – from Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin and a former staffer to the Mentri Besar, Nathaniel Tan.
YB Yeo’s first accusation: the current water shortage is due to the change in rain pattern as a result of climate change. She believes that the water crisis is not due to demand growth as projected, implying that the Federal Government shouldn’t try to take credit for forecasting this exact problem years ago.
I’m not certain what her point is. Obviously, when forecasting supply and demand, one tries to take into account all factors and contingencies. Demand has been steadily increasing since 1998 at around 4% per annum and to suddenly blame climate change is a cop out.
The fact of the matter is – we forecasted the current water shortage in 2009 and advised them to relook their populist, cheap water policy. We even offered them an exit: Langat 2. What we got in return were statements like those of state exco YB Elizabeth Wong rubbishing the warnings back in 2011.
There is a related argument that points to other states having water supply issues, such as Johor and Negeri Sembilan – as if to suggest we should cut Selangor some slack. Two quick points: first, any disruption in supply in Johor and Negeri Sembilan have not been anywhere as severe and protracted as Selangor’s. Second, while we can link Johor’s water concerns directly to the drought due to the river’s proximity to the sea (meaning that a drop in water levels can lead to salt water going upstream), in Selangor, we saw dam levels drop since May 2013, way before any dry season. The point stands: there were warning signs for Selangor and there was a way out but they just didn’t want to take it.
YB Yeo’s second accusation: The water tariff in Selangor is already the second highest in the country and Syabas’ inability to reduce NRW is because it has been “misusing public money” – implying that tariff increases will be uncalled for.
It is true that the tariff is the second highest after Johor, even without tariff increases. But what Pakatan doesn’t want you to consider is that the piping network in Selangor accounts for 20% of the entire national network, what with it being the most populous and industrialised state with the largest economy. Never mind the fact that tariff increases are embedded in the concession agreements – as a regulating mechanism – clearly, the Selangor tariffs would be higher than Perak, Perlis or even Penang, which has been getting loans from the federal government (something they also don’t want you to consider).
What they further fail to mention is that NRW had fallen from 37.8% in 2005 to 33.1% in 2012 despite the natural deterioration (that is, NRW increases if no efforts are done) of 1.8% per annum. Curiously enough, YB Yeo acknowledged that Selangor needs RM540mil to reduce the NRW to the 15% target. Where does she or Nathaniel think the money is supposed to come from if it isn’t from the tariff increases?
YB Yeo’s third accusation: Langat 2 would only come on stream in 2015 and hence, would not solve the current problem.
Simple fact: had the state government not dragged its feet on awarding the Development Order since 2009, Langat 2 would have been operational now, providing an extra 1,130mil litres daily and avoiding the crisis today.
YB Yeo’s fourth accusation: despite the Federal Government taking over the bonds at RM6.2bil and injecting RM400mil for operations, Syabas has not reduced NRW sufficiently.
The RM6.2bil was to take over the bonds of the four water operators to avoid an adverse impact on the capital market and the RM400mil was for operational improvements, specifically to pay for the treated water it obtained from the three water operators since the state government rejected their application for a tariff increase. They had absolutely nothing to do with NRW reduction.
Now, it is true that we cannot keep throwing government money at problems. But there are times where the Government needs to spend to avoid a total collapse of an industry, such as would have been the case without the RM6.2bil injection to service bondholders.
Nathaniel claims the term “bailout” is more appropriate than “cash injection”, which I had initially used. I guess he is half-right – we did bail out the state government, which, in its politicking, was prepared to see precisely the water industry collapse we wanted to avoid.
YB Yeo’s fifth accusation: The Federal Government should not claim credit for agreeing to provide RM9.65bil to acquire the water companies but release assets to the state government.
First off, isn’t it telling that – just as its first accusation about water shortage forecast – Pakatan is clearly less concerned about how to move forward than it is with making sure it gains maximum political dividend? Isn’t it telling that even when the Federal Government agrees to set aside RM9.65bil to, again, bail out the state government and help it fulfil its election promises, they still find ways to blame us for it?
Bandying around terms like “unbridled greed of BN-linked corporate players” and “decades of corruption and cronyism”, they engineer smokescreens to hide a simple business fact in any modern economy: that a purchase arrangement needs to be on a willing buyer, willing seller basis. If they need any further evidence of that, they needn’t look very far as it is found in their repeated and futile attempts to acquire water assets below fair value since taking over in 2008.
Whether it is issues like tariffs or something altogether different like GST, the standard line of “BN corrupt” just doesn’t cut it any more when the facts don’t stack up and the numbers don’t add up.
In this unfortunate Selangor case, taking some responsibility is the first step to ensuring the crisis ends – because guess what? Pakatan could still drag its feet on Langat 2 and despite the recent end to water rationing, we might be back here in six months.
Khairy Jamaluddin is the Youth and Sports Minister as well as the Barisan Nasional Youth Chairman. Contrary to popular belief, his house was also affected by water cuts.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/05/06/Smokescreening-wont-work-this-time/
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Now whilst I'm no fan of Khairi, still I regret to have to admit that he's right about the cheap, populist politicking by Pakatan Rakyat, especially PKR elected representatives over an essential resources such as our water supply.
Especially these PKR morons seem to think that politicking can materialise water supply out of thin air. I wonder what they've been smoking.
I'd sooner have faith in a bomoh (traditional Malay shaman) to solve Selangor's water problems than I have in these morons who are only good at playing politics and making our lives miserable.
Now they are shitting in their pants over the possibility that they could lose in the next general elections.
Well water disruption directly affects more people than KIDEX ever will.
In April, I drove past a banner on Jalan Surian in Damansara Perdana which appeared to blame Selangor State Assembly-woman Elizabeth Wong (left in the picture above) for the water disruption.
On another note, my neighbour is upset over the high-tech sewer being built beside his home which will channel sewage, including excreta to a treatment plant which is supposed to be able to produce water from excreta which is clean enough to drink, like Nuwater in Singapore. Call it Selangor Jamban Water and sell it for RM10 per 1.5 litre bottle.
The construction of the sewer has already resulted in cracks to the periphery of homes along his road, he informed me last night.
Yes, this is a federal Government project too but what has the Selangor State Government done about it, even if to mitigate its disruption.
NOTE: For those unfamiliar with Malaysia's political scene, Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) is a coalition of three opposition parties -i.e. the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the People's Justice Party (PKR) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), whilst ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) or National Front which controls the Federal Government is a coalition of 13 parties across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
No2KIDEX
http://no2kidex.blogspot.com
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