SYABAS: Rafizi Adamant Consumers To Be Compensated

Rafizi Ramli – (MEDIA STATEMENT)

SYABAS TO COMPENSATE CONSUMERS OVER DISRUPTIONS, PKR TO BRING CASE TO CONSUMERS’ TRIBUNAL

Syabas’ failure in the management and maintenance of the pumping station in Wangsa Maju which led to severe water supply outages around Eastern Selangor (including Pandan, Ampang, Gombak, Wangsa Maju and Setiawangsa Parliamentary) was a very disappointing affair, and cannot be excused. It was a repeat incident involving the very same pumping station that also wreaked three weeks’ worth of water supply disruptions last December 2012.

This has made the situation in the entire Selangor to worsen when other areas, such as Puchong and Kelana Jaya, were affected as well. In response, Syabas only released simple statements that blamed increasing consumption rates for the outages in the affected areas.

Syabas’ failure to supervise and maintain the Wangsa Maju pumping station with reasonable care, and their ill-planning in ensuring consistent availability of water supply according to current water consumption rates reflected the glaring weaknesses in Syabas’ management and operations.

As a concession holder that monopolises the water supplies in the Klang Valley, these errors are deemed unacceptable by consumers. Syabas is responsible for repairing these damages, and as long as these disruptions occur because of their failure to address these shortcomings, Syabas should compensate consumers who are affected by the outages.

As a Member of Parliament of an area that is largely affected by these disruptions, I have reached the decision to file several claims towards Syabas at the Consumer Claims Tribunal in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act 1999.

Under Section 53 of Consumer Protection 1999, “Where services are supplied to a consumer, there shall be implied a guarantee that the services will be carried out with reasonable care and skill.” If Syabas had reasonable care and skill, these faults that were causing repeated water supply disruptions could have been preventable.

Pandan Parliament Service Centre will contact as many households affected by these water outages and will file a case against Syabas to claim for compensations at the Consumer Claims Tribunal. Consumers can also fill out their information at my blog www.rafiziramli.com/tribunalpengguna. I am aiming for at least 1,000 cases to be filed against Syabas with immediate affect starting from next week.

Action to hold Syabas accountable to the people must begin by ensuring Syabas will compensate consumers who are affected for each time a water supply outage occurs. As long as there is no active campaign being organised to pressure Syabas into compensating the people, Syabas will not be concerning themselves about the hardship faced by the people for every outage.

I have contacted YB Azmin Ali (Gombak), YB Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang), YB Dr. Tan Kee Kwong (Wangsa Maju), YB Hannah Yeoh (Subang Jaya), YB Tiew Way Keng (Teratai), YB Iskandar Abdul Samad (Cempaka), YB Wong Chen (Kelana Jaya) and YB Gobind Singh Deo (Puchong) to organise a campaign to pressure Syabas into compensating affected consumers for each time a water supply outage occurs.

I have also formally written to Tan Sri Rozalli Ismail, Chairman of Syabas, to invite him down to Pandan to explain himself to the settlers why Syabas has failed to supply water adequately to them as entrusted by the concession agreement.

Rafizi Ramli is Pandan’s Member of Parliament

29th August 2013


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