PENANG Deputy Chief Minister Prof P Ramasamy urged Environment and Water Minister (KASA) Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man to stop acting like a spokesman for states but to look at the country’s water security issues on a broader perspective.
“The ministry should take a more global approach in addressing water needs in various states, not serve as spokesperson for the states.
“It’s really disappointing that Tuan Ibrahim is acting like mouthpiece for states like Kedah and Perak rather than resolving water woes plaguing several states,” he said, in a statement.
Two days ago, Perak MB Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad announced that the state would not be sharing its water supply with Penang due to scarcity.
He added that the decision was made following a joint research conducted by the two state governments and the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry which revealed that Perak does not have enough supply for its own use, let alone to share with Penang.
“Taking into account what had happened in the Kerian farming area where the water catchment in Bukit Merah has dried up, we had to rely on the cloud seeding to produce water source for farming activities,” The Malay Mail Online reported Saarani as saying.
Yesterday, Tuan Ibrahim agreed with Saarani’s assessment of the situation and stressed that the decision was made by the Perak state government.
The PAS leader explained that this was because water comes under the respective state governments’ purview, and Perak had provided an explanation on the decision.
“Perak has to give priority to the needs of the state as it will have a population of three million by 2035,” The Star reported Tuan Ibrahim as saying.
Establish regional water authorities
Touching on the matter, Ramasamy said that KASA has powers when to comes to inter-state water transfers and lamented that Tuan Ibrahim has not taken the idea to establish a water authority in the Ulu Muda region of Kedah seriously.
He added that the minister should be forward thinking enough to establish regional water authorities across the country.
“In fact, a number of states in Peninsula Malaysia may face water shortages in the future as a result of climate change, deforestation, pollution and others.
“Hence, the argument that individual states should have exclusive authority over their rivers cannot be sustained anymore,” Ramasamy stressed.
Back on the Sungai Muda and Sungai Perak issue, the Perai state assemblyman stated it was not that the rivers should only serve the exclusive needs of Kedahans and Perakians, calling it an archaic argument inconsistent with the challenges of current water supply issues.
“If Johor can share water with Singapore and Pahang can share water with Selangor, why can’t Perak do the same?
“In the case of Singapore and Selangor, it one way sharing but Penang is proposing water sharing with Perak to address the needs of both states,” Ramasamy quipped. – March 5, 2022
