A cabinet committee headed by deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been set up to help resolve the Selangor water crisis.
It will look into the 'serious' conflict between the federal government, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) and the Selangor state government, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin today.
The two contentious issues are a water rationing proposal by Syabas, and Mentri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's announcement that the state will take over Syabas' management – claiming that the latter had failed to discharge its duties in line with the concession agreement.
Besides Chin, other ministers named to the committee are Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar; Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala and Federal Territory and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
"We will tackle the issues in a holistic manner," Chin told reporters after opening the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers 2012 conference here.
"The committee will look into issues such as water supply in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya,"
Chin said no representative from the state government was invited to sit in the committee agreed upon during Wednesday's cabinet meeting.
"We will invite them to give us information if needed," he said. The committee will hold its first meeting next Monday.
Meanwhile, the Selangor government today handed over formal notice to the federal government on its plan to take over Syabas under clause 32 of the concession agreement.
The delegation, headed by state executive councillors Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, Ronnie Liu, Iskandar A Samad and Dr Halimah Ali.
Xavier said the state is ready to "step in" and take over Syabas, which has repeatedly claimed there is a water crisis in Selangor.
"Ramadan is coming soon and we have to give a positive picture to the people in Selangor and Putrajaya that there will not be any water disruption," Xavier told reporters after handing over the letter to Chin's senior private secretary Nicholas Yii.
Xavier said the state government has an obligation to give confidence to over 170,000 companies in various industries in Selangor.
"That is why we are taking this step to safeguard the interest of the people in Selangor and make sure that water continues to flow from their taps," he said.
Commenting on the setting up of the committee, Xavier said while it was the prerogative of the cabinet, the federal government should not take sides but be an independent authority to look into the issue.
He said the federal government should not merely rely on the figures provided by Syabas, adding that it is vital the government gets an independent audit group to ascertain the correct figures.
Syabas CEO Datuk Ruslan Hassan had last Saturday said the company would seek permission from the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) to conduct water rationing for Kuala Lumpur, Hulu Langat and Klang.
He claimed a water crisis was already affecting Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya as treated water production capacity from existing water treatment plants cannot meet demand.
"As far as Selangor is concerned, never during our discussions with the federal government over the past three years was there an issue of a water crisis in 2012," said Xavier.
"There was always an issue of Selangor having less water in 2015, so why is there a spike in increased demand of water suddenly claimed by Syabas out of nowhere?"
"A company like Syabas, which is listed and running the water industry, cannot suddenly come up with figures saying there is a huge increase for demand of water overnight. This is unacceptable," said Xavier, adding that the state hopes to get a reply from the federal government in the next two weeks.
As to the state's next move should the ministry reject the proposal, Xavier said it will be made known at the right time, adding that he did not want to speculate on what will happen.
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