Dr. Dzul's Blog

The Selangor government is responsible for dealing with any consequence arising from the water restructuring deal with the federal government,  Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

This, Muhyiddin said, included the possibility of an increase in water tariff.

The federal government, which last week signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Selangor, would focus solely on the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant, he added.

“The state water affairs, under the MOU, still belong to the state, so it will have to deal with the rest of the issues (arising from the MOU).

“I don’t know (about water tariff). From what has been agreed upon, we are concentrating on the Langat 2 project,” he said, adding that the water treatment plant project needed to “come first”.

Although details of the MOU have not been disclosed to the public, PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli earlier today warned that it could lead to a rise in water tariffs in the state.

Muhyiddin said the immediate focus would be on preparing the land needed for the water treatment plant and also to oversee the handing out of contracts to contractors for the plant.

“Our immediate priority is to ensure there is a steady supply of water for the state at all times,” he told a press conference in Kajang today.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had in the past vehemently opposed the Langat 2 project, and the state government did not issue a work permit for the construction work to be carried out, thus halting the project in 2012.

This was later used as a concession in the water restructuring deal, where the federal government in return would allow the state to takeover all four water concessionaires in Selangor after the state agreed to allow the Langat 2 plant to proceed.

There have been criticism that the deal, made under the MOU, would not be observed by the federal government, while Rafizi also said earlier today that the deal seemed to only be legally-binding over the Langat 2 project.