SHAH ALAM, 2 Apr: A new agreement will be signed between the Federal Government and the Selangor Government if Section 114 of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA) is used for the success of the restructuring of the water industry in the state.
The Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, said that the State and Federal Government is currently in discussions regarding the modus operandi to strengthen the WSIA because it is the first time the section is being used in the country.
He said that the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) has also agreed to resume talks this Friday to ensure that the water industry will finally be returned to the state government through the subsidiary company, Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB).
“While the discussion process will take a long time, but it is needed to enforce, in line with the WSIA law and cannot be challenged in court by any unsatisfied party.
“We believe that the mechanism or modus operandi to be adopted to acquire the water services will benefit the state government because the compensation needed to be paid to concessionaires is cheaper than the initial offer of RM9.65 billion,” he said in a press conference after chairing the Exco meeting today.
Abdul Khalid said that the State Government, along with the Federal Government, is also currently reviewing appropriate methods that meet the requirements of that section so that its enforcement will not be detrimental to the parties involved.
He is also confident that the modus operandi may be able to solve the state’s water restructuring through the role of the Federal Government.
“The Selangor Government places high trust that the restructuring will be resolved through the Federal Government’s role, especially KeTTHA, as the facilitator, as agreed in the water Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 26 February,” he added.
Last Monday, the State Government and Federal agencies, including the Attorney-General’s Office, held intensive discussions to ‘step in’ by using that section for the success of the restructuring of the water industry in Selangor.
Putrajaya will take over the stubborn concessions forcefully to allow the restructuring of the water industry in Selangor continues as required by the state government.
Three of the four concessionaires rejected the final offer of RM9.65 billion from the State Government on 10 March which stunted restructuring efforts and the construction of the Langat 1 Water Treatment Plant (LRAL2) initiated by the Federal Government.
