SHAH ALAM, 22 Mar: The Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, said that the control in producing and distributing treated water in Selangor will be placed under a company its own company.
Abdul Khalid said that this can be done after the industry is taken over by the Federal Government through the Water Services Industry Act.
He said that the operations of the four concessionaires, which were managing water all this while, will be acquired and placed under a state subsidiary company, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB).
At the beginning of the acquisition process, Putrajaya and Selangor will send KDEB officer to join the Putrajaya team which will “take over” operations from the four concessionaires, he said.
“The Federal Government and KDEB will join in together. However, the Federal Government will stand behind and let KDEB manage (water operations),” he said at the Shah Alam Gallery today.
Khalid said that this is an agreement between Selangor and Putrajaya to restructure the water industry so that it is more profitable and will overcome the problem of inefficiency in the water industry in Selangor.
Earlier, Abdul Khalid said that the acquisition of the four water utility firms in Selangor by Putrajaya in the next two weeks is in line with Section 114 of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA).
He said that move would enable the restructuring of the water in the state to be accelerated with the Federal Government taking over the water assets and handing over the management power and operations to the Selangor Government.
He said that the people should not worry because Selangor’s interests are still being preserved when the water operations are left entirely to the State Government.
