SHAH ALAM, 14 Apr: The water restructuring needs to be accelerated so that the State Government does not have to bear high expenses for the free water programme.

The Assemblyman for Bukit Antarabangsa, Azmin Ali, said that the application for additional supply for the free water programme is closely connected to the water acquisition, which has yet to be finalised.

In the presentation of the supplementary supply Bill by the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, RM82 million is needed to fund the free water programme until December 2014.

“We believe that this can be resolved, thus reducing cost. I hope that the acquisition of the water industry can be accelerated,” he said in the debate for the supplementary supply.

In addition, Azmin also urged the State Government to give assurance that the heads of agreement which will be sign by the State Government in the acquisition is not bound by the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

He suggested for a mechanism to be established through a select committee by Assemblymen to monitor the effectiveness of the agreement.

“The State Government, under Pakatan Rakyat, practices the principle of transparency so that consumers and the public can read the content to avoid speculation at the grassroots level.

“It is also important for Assemblymen to assist the State Government to ensure that the free water programme is continues and that the water rates cannot be increased arbitrarily,” he said.