SHAH ALAM, 5 Mar: The Selangor Government has guaranteed to not raise the water tariff and instead, the people of the state will continue to enjoy the 20 cubic metres of free water in the next three years.
The Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, said that the people need not worry although there have been claims that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the water restructuring signed with the Federal Government will cause consumers to bear higher costs.
“No. Water tariffs will not increase in the next three years,” he said briefly when commenting on the matter during a press conference at the Selangor State Government Secretary’s Office (SUK) today.
He said that the Initial Agreement signed also states that there will not be an increase in the water tariffs.
He said that the Selangor Government will also ensure that Perbadanan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB) does not increase the price of water after handing over water assets.
“In the agreement, PAAB was also involved. It has been agreed and this is not only happening in Selangor, but also in Johor and Malacca,” he said.
Last week, the water restructuring MoU was signed between the Selangor Government and the Federal Government, allowing for the acquisition of four water concessionaires which will receive a compensation of RM9.65 billion.
It is important to avoid an increase in the water tariff to 70 percent as previously demanded by the Selangor Water Supply Company (Syabas).
