The Water Association of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (SWAN) is asking pointed questions about the National Water Services Commission’s (SPAN) silence over an impending water crisis in Selangor.
SWAN president Aldric Loong Kim Yew said he was disappointed with SPAN’s statement last Friday, in which the committee said it was waiting for word from the Selangor state government and the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) before deciding on whether another round of water rationing is required in the state.
“As a water regulator, SPAN cannot ignore and deny warnings and reports from operators on the situation at the dams. Consumers are placed at risk with the dam level depleting below 40 per cent,” he said, as reported by The Malay Mail Online.
SPAN’s corporate communication director Carol Pelly had reportedly said both the state and LUAS were in charge of raw water supply and there had been no application from the state for water rationing.
“SPAN ought to take the lead and give firm advice to the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry as millions of lives can be badly affected,” Loong said.
Loong added that SPAN should realise the state government might have other reasons for not calling for the implementation of another round of water rationing.
This is possibly a reference to the ongoing power struggle within Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and the broader Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition to which it belongs, as Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim of PKR tries to hold on to his post as Selangor Menteri Besar against an official endorsement from his own party that president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail should succeed him. Selangor’s water supply situation is something Khalid would want to keep under control if he were to prove his qualifications for office.
