Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today suggested that the people of Selangor urge Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to quickly solve the water problem in the state which he said was worsening.
Unless the problem was solved immediately, the people of Selangor would be faced with a grave situation, he said.
"This is not a question of politics. It is a question of survival, as water accounts for all aspects of life.
"It is a serious problem, and I ask the people to urge the menteri besar to solve the problem quickly.
The federal government has negotiated repeatedly on the matter, to the extent that (Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister) Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui was almost sued whereas we are trying to solve a major problem faced by the people," he said at the ground-breaking for construction of Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (SRJK) Tamil Ladang Bukit Minyak, here.
Muhyiddin said that as chairman of the Committee on the Country's Water Resources, he had to bring up the matter as there was no positive development in the talks with the Selangor government, and it involved public interest and welfare.
He said it was unfortunate that the Selangor leaders were not overly concerned about the problem and, strangely, Khalid had shown reporters a water-filled dam to demonstrate there was no problem.
"Of course, there will be much water now. According to experts, unless the new (Langat 2) water treatment plant is built, the whole of Selangor and the federal territories (of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya) will face a water shortage in 2014," he said.
The Langat 2 plant is part of the Pahang-Selangor Raw Water Transfer Project involving also the construction of a 44.6km tunnel through the Titiwangsa Range to channel water from Sungai Semantan in Pahang to Sungai Hulu Langat in Selangor.
The project has been stayed after the Selangor government declined to approve the development order.
Muhyiddin said the unending issue had brought loss to Selangor and its residents in that 138 developers had to shelve construction of projects in the state owing to a lack of guarantee on adequate water supply once they started operations.
As such, he advised the people of Selangor to return the Barisan Nasional (BN) to power in the state in the next general election.-- BERNAMA
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