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Many states have no plans to increase water tariff

PETALING JAYA: The “who’s” wanting to raise water rates seems to be a fluid topic with several states declaring they have no plans to do so.

Following Wednesday’s announc­e­­ment by Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar that six states have agreed to raise their charges, a number of states have now made known they are not on that list.

So far, those that said “no” are Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Perak, Sabah, Kedah and Penang.

(Some states like Melaka, Perak and Penang, despite earlier reports indicating they would do so, gave a “no” this time.)

He said the state’s last water review was three years ago.

“Our rate is RM1.31 per cubic metre for domestic households.”

The rate in Penang was much cheaper at 33 sen per cubic metre, he added.

Puah said he understood the rational for water tariffs to be incre­ased in six states as the government wanted to standardise the rates.

“But this will not involve Johor.”

Instead, he said it was necessary for the Federal Government to spend more on water infrastructure in Johor.

“We should be given more grants to carry out research to look for alternative water sources.

“This includes exploring the use of underground water sources especially in the wake of the ammonia pollution in Sg Johor recently which left thousands of people without water,” he added.

Puah said that the state was also exploring the possibility of recycling water from industries in Pasir Gudang and then channelling it back to the industries in the area.

The Melaka state government said it would not raise the tariff despite earlier reports it would to help support the cost of managing water supply.

Chief Minister Adly Zahari said the state government decided not to proceed with the earlier plan because the water tariff was raised three years ago.

“Melaka is not one of the six states that agreed to increase water tariff rates,” he said yesterday.

He said the current rate of 60 sen for up to 20 cubic metres imposed on domestic customers of Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd is among the highest in the country.

In Seremban, Bernama reported that the state government had decided not to hike the water tariff but instead focus on how Syarikat Air Negri Sembilan could reduce its cost of operations to increase profitability.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminu­ddin Harun said the state was not on the list of those that had agreed to increase water tariffs.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu also dispelled talk of an increase, adding that it was still being studied.

“I have just finished a meeting with the Perak Water Board. We did discuss on steps that we could take should an increment be needed.”

“We are trying to find ways how not to burden the people,” he told reporters .

When contacted, state Public Utilities Committee chairman Abdul Yunus Jamhari said Perak had been given until the end of the year to study the matter.

“We still have a lot of time to deliberate on the implications and other aspects of the increment,” he said.

“As of now, nothing has been decided,” he added.

Sabah Water Department director Amarjit Singh said that Sabah has not made a stand on the federal plan to restructure water rates.

Such a review was done about three years ago, he said.

“Not at the moment,” he said to questions about a possible increase.

Kedah and Penang have also excluded themselves.

Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) said it did not apply for a tariff review, while a Kedah exco member revealed that there were discussions on the tariff with the federal government but nothing was agreed.

PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said the state had yet to apply for a tariff review and will do so only after the Water, Land and Natural Resources Minis­try tables the Tariff Setting Mecha­nism (TSM) to Cabinet for approval.

“We are waiting for the ministry to get Cabinet approval for the TSM.

“After the approval, then we can apply for a tariff review to National Water Services Commission (SPAN),” he said.

Kedah Water Resources and Water Supply Committee chairman Zamri Yusuf said he was not aware of any upcoming increase of water rates in Kedah although a discussion was held with SPAN about it earlier this year.

“We discussed and gave our views but there is no change so far.

“SPAN did propose changes, we discussed it but we did not sign any agreement,” Zamri said.

Source : TheStar