As far as Sarawak is concerned, water is a state matter and Sarawak has its own Water Ordinance and Water Supply Regulations to regulate the water supply authorities in Sarawak. File Photo
KUCHING: The Sarawak Government is committed not to increase the water tariff in the coming years but to improve its water supply utility services through its various initiatives, the state’s Ministry of Utilities said.
As far as Sarawak is concerned, water is a state matter and Sarawak has its own Water Ordinance and Water Supply Regulations to regulate the water supply authorities in Sarawak, the Ministry of Utilities said in a press statement today.
The state ministry was reacting to several news articles yesterday, including national news agency Bernama and online portal Malay Mail quoting Minister of Water, Lands and Natural Resource Minister Datuk Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar as saying that all states had agreed to implement water tariffs adjustment next year.
“In response to the article, the Ministry of Utilities Sarawak wishes to categorically deny that there is such an agreement by Sarawak.
“The heading of the article is very misleading and does not convey the true picture of the actual situation,” it read.
“The Ministry would like to appeal to the mass media to be truthful and responsible in their reporting on such issues, which affects the Sarawak people at large, so as not create any unnecessary misunderstandings or misconception of the actual situation.”
It then disclosed several initiatives that Sarawak is capable of looking into its own water supply, which included the on-going implementation of numerous projects under the RM2.8 billion ‘Projek Rakyat’ (People’s Project) for water supply to resolve issues in water stressed areas throughout Sarawak and the provision of free water for the first RM5 of the monthly water bill for all domestic consumers.
Another initiative is the Sarawak Water Supply Master Plan and Water Grid to provide a holistic development plan for short, medium and long term development of water supply in Sarawak.
The National Water Services Commission (or SPAN) regulates the water services industry in accordance with the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655), which is applicable only for Peninsular Malaysia and Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Labuan and therefore is not applicable to Sarawak.
“Any water tariff adjustments prescribed by the Federal Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister, on the recommendation of SPAN, do not apply to Sarawak,” the state ministry said.
In yesterday’s article Xavier was quoted as saying that his federal ministry was still negotiating on a number of matters before it is finalised, adding that he would hold full discussions with the relevant states on the new water tariffs, soon.
The proposed implementation of the mechanism involves an increase of 0.06 sen to 0.71 sen per 1,000 litres.
The current average water tariff rate is RM1.38 per 1,000 litres compared to the actual cost of RM2.31 per 1,000 litres.