TheSun:Water – Back to Square One

ON May 5, an end to the potentially crippling water crisis in the Klang Valley lay with the voters of Selangor.

In the run up to the general election, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak pledged that the federal government would resolve the water woes, marked by frequent supply cuts especially since the beginning of the year, if the voters returned the Barisan Nasional to power in the state ruled by Pakatan Rakyat for the last five years.

Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui, in an interview before bowing out as energy, green technology and water minister, appealed to the people of Selangor to avoid a water crisis by "voting wisely".

With the election out of the way and Barisan having failed to wrest control of Malaysia's richest state, comes the reality that the water dispute between the Selangor and federal governments is back to square one.

We now face the spectre of a prolonged standoff because not only was Pakatan returned to power with a two-thirds margin that it didn't have previously, but it stormed back stronger with a four-fifths majority.

This is further compounded by the fact that the man whom the federal government had found a stumbling block in efforts to resolve the issue, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, is back in the mentri besar's seat, despite some initial reports that the state might get a new mentri besar.

Now, hardly three weeks after the election, a warning has again rung out that the Klang Valley could be headed for a water crisis on an "unprecedented scale" by July next year if no solution is found soon.

Datuk Lee Miang Koi, the chief operating officer of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas), has over the past few years been warning of such a crisis due to sharply rising consumption causing the water reserve situation to become more and more critical.

Up to this month, the demand is at 4,638 million litres a day compared with the collective daily production capacity of 4,661 million litres.

Coupled with this, most of the 34 treatment plants under Syabas are already operating above capacity and unable to meet the high demand.

The current reserve stands at only 0.43 % and by July 2014, the water reserve will be used up. To be on the safe side, water reserves should be at 10% production capacity.

This is a grim scenario and we are dealing with such a vital commodity as water. Meantime, while waiting for the Selangor politicians who run the state to come to terms with reality, what can be done about it?

Lee and Syabas can only appeal to everyone to control demand but going by past records, such advice will fall on deaf ears especially in a state like Selangor where the people have been pampered by the state government's free water policy over the last five years.

Another alternative is to increase the supply capacity. This is being tackled via the federal government project to transfer raw water from Pahang but unfortunately it is being derailed by Selangor's refusal to grant a development order for the Langat 2 treatment plant that would provide water until 2025.

How do we control demand in heavily industrialised regions with high population densities like Selangor which attract people from all parts of the country in search of jobs and business opportunities?

It is impossible but Lee is still holding out some hope. His appeal is for everyone to reduce consumption by at least 5%. Our penchant for wasteful use of water is legendary. This is what happens when we provide water at rates far too cheaply; and this started long before Selangor came up with free water facility.

This time the Syabas COO sounded desperate when he said: "Every drop of water saved could be used by other consumers in critical areas."

Syabas has identified 35 "water stress areas" which are vulnerable as they are either on higher ground or at the end of the water distribution system. This means that if the distributable capacity is not increased, the number of affected areas will also rise.

One such area is Balakong on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur which experiences frequent supply disruptions with so many housing estates and industries.

I caught up with Lee over the weekend and suggested another option while waiting for Khalid to relent – water rationing.

If we can't produce enough treated water in the absence of new sources of raw water due to the impasse in the Pahang-Selangor water transfer project, let's be realistic about it irrespective of it being a popular move or not.

According to Lee, Syabas had mooted such a proposal earlier but the then cabinet committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin did not agree to it.

I can understand why it was shot down previously. It was due to the looming general election but now that we won't have to go to the polls for another five years, why not?

On whether it was technically doable, Lee said: "I certainly agree this looks an inevitable option now. And it can be done."

It is definitely better and much less stressful for the people to store some water during the period when water is available for use during the rationing. For thousands, it will spare them the torture of having to line up in long queues waiting for water tankers in affected areas especially for those living in high-rise housing.

With rationing, it's easier to get the "conserve water" message across to consumers compared with urging them to save water by a certain percentage point.
When it comes to water, there are so many ironies that the people of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya now facing the possibility of crisis have to live with.

And they do so with eyes wide open, given the outcome of the general election when there was a way out of the mess but was not taken up by the majority.

Water expert Prof Datuk Dr Zaini Ujang was blunt when he warned last month that the standoff over water issues would make Malaysia a laughing stock. It's a country blessed with so much water but the people suffer because politicians are unable to get their act together.

The new energy, green technology and water minister, Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, in his first statement after taking over from Chin said he wants to quickly get down to tackling the issue.

He has called on the Selangor government to put aside its political differences with the federal government over the issue. Let's all hope he has better luck than Chin.

Khalid, when taking his oath of office as mentri besar for the second term on May 14, said the state government would restructure the state's water services industry and the Langat 2 water plant would be included in the plans. He read out a 10-point pledge to uphold the interests of the state and people.

We all hope that he ends his stubborn attitude on water, the people's most basic need.

I wish Chin a happy retirement. At least, his mind is now free from Selangor's messy water politics. In a text message from Miri, his hometown, he told me: "If the crisis does happen, I'll be observing it from a distance."

Azman Ujang is a former editor-in-chief of Bernama. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com