Rotting pipes, crumbling roofs over treatment plants, overworked pumps that break down, water treatment plants working at full capacity -- and worst of all, not enough treated water for domestic and industrial users -- the Selangor water problem is wallowing in a mess.
The state government is holding up permission for the four concessionaires to get funds to fix these problems because it is bent on taking over the water companies.
But after nearly five years since it announced its intention to "restructure the industry", Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has now made his fourth bid after the three previous attempts were rejected by them.
The Selangor state government's offer of RM9.65 billion as announced by Khalid on Wednesday to the four concessionaries, actually raises more questions than answers like "Where is huge funding coming from?" and "Which banks are prepared to back this offer?"
Khalid was asked this question by reporters but chose to keep it close to his chest. He may have already thought out his strategy.
Khalid, in his takeover statement, not surprisingly took a swipe at Tan Sri Rozali Ismail, the key figure among the concessionaires, when the Menteri Besar said he hoped that Rozali would not "prejudice" the state's takeover offer.
Rozali is the majority shareholder of Puncak Niaga Holdings, which owns two of the four concession companies, Punca Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (SYABAS).
Rozali described Khalid's assertion that rejecting the state government's offer as tantamount to rejecting the offer from the people of Selangor as highly irresponsible and laced in politics.
"The majority of the stakeholders of Puncak Niaga and SYABAS are also the people of Selangor. SYABAS' customers numbering more than seven million are also mainly the people of Selangor. The minority shareholders of Puncak Niaga Holdings, which make up 58.75 percent of the company are also the people of Selangor," he added.
On closer scrutiny, Khalid's offer fails to address the impending water shortage as taking over these companies will not in anyway increase the availability of treated water by a single drop, said Dr Zaharuddin Ahmad Sabri, an academician and water expert.
"Khalid is banking on the acceptance of his offer by SYABAS and Puncak Niaga. I want to ask him, has he actually received the green light from the two other companies -- Splash and ABASS? And how can you expect these concessionaires to accept the offer within just 14 days?," he asked.
Dr Zaharuddin said it was unthinkable for the deal to go through in such a short time as some of the companies concerned were also public listed companies and needed shareholder approval for important decisions.
He said it had been almost five years since the water restructuring plan was mooted but until today, the state government had not revealed plans how it would solve the water shortage problem expected by next year.-- BERNAMA
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