July 23, 2012
SYABAS remains with an UMNO Crony (?)
by Aidila Razak@http://www.malaysiakini.com
The Federal Government has made an initial decision not to allow the Selangor government to take over the operations of state water concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).
The special cabinet committee on the Selangor water issue agreed at its meeting that there are “substantial and procedural” matters that have not been met to allow Selangor to takeover Syabas.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (right) said the final decision would be made after the attorney-general deliberates on the matter.
“He has been instructed to call a meeting on this matter this afternoon,” he said after chairing a three-hour meeting in Putrajaya today.
Among the issues that stand in the way of the takeover, he said, is the state government’s failure to compensate Syabas after refusing a scheduled increase in the water tariff.
“The matter is now pending in court as Syabas is suing Selangor,” he said.Selangor had in 2009 refused to allow water tariffs to go up unless Syabas reduced its non-revenue water which currently involves one-third of supply.
Asked why Selangor was not invited to attend the discussion today, Muhyiddin said this was a Federal-level meeting.
“There are several matters which will have to involve Selangor but so far, this is (within) our scope of power,” he said. The committee came to the decision after consultations with the Energy, Green Technology and Water and National Water Services Commission.
So this means cronies are more powerful then Mentri Besar’s who protect the interests of the Ra’ayat.
I am sure , the Selangor state government can seek redress through the courts or can’t it?
Folks, there is going to be real anger against the UMNO Melayu arrogance. The people of Selangor must now rise upo to the occasion and tell this Federal lunatics the peoples power is greater than UMNO power. Call in the rakyat to rise against these UMNO Melayus.
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Where ever you are. why don’t you come back and fight. If you can’t, do not agitate from a safe distance.–Din Merican
At the heart of this matter is politics. It is a battle between UMNO-BN Federal Government and a Pakatan controlled Selangor State Government. Frankly speaking, we cannot solve business issues/problems when politics gets in the way of sound hard nosed commercial decision making. Why can’t the Federal Government give consumers in Selangor a better deal. Isn’t that what government is supposed to do. Or am I wrong in making that assumption?–Din Merican
one really wonders who is lurking behind the curtains im Syabas. the survival of these people seem to be more important than the needs of the rakyat and even the possible demise of umno-bn at the polls. are they so sure of winning back Selangor that they even dare to turn of the taps in Selangor – arrogance at its highest.
the Selangor government must prepare the people for all eventuallities. once upon a time malaysians used to process rain water at home for drinking and cooking. use rainwater which is easy to collect and save money by using less syabas water.
for every mile you drive you pay the cronies at the toll gate.
for every litre you drink you pay the cronies at syabas.
Would it be possible to allow the selangor rakyat to vote for a decision on who should manage syabas.
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Yes, via a referendum.–Din Merican
Din,
You should not assume things. Your assumption that I do not come home is incorrect. I do have a residential home at SS2, PJ and I spend more than 10 days almost every month in SS 2. I am engaged in more than one way to agitate for fair governance and expose myself in more ways than you would know.
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If that is so, my apologies. Well done and let us make change happen.If you are back call me and I will apologise to you personally over tea tarik at Raju’s. I made a wrong assumption.–Din Merican
Yes Dato Din Merican, you are wrong in making the assumption in the context of the Malaysian politics and governance. Here the cronies get their way and with priority over the rakyat / people!
Tell me, what experience has Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary has in water supply management as compared to Jabatan Bekalan Air at Jalan Waterworks in Johor Bahru? Can he work hand in hand with Public Utilities Board (PUB) Singapore in water management of the Johore facilities? The answer is obvious yet they want this man who has taken over Port of Tg Pelepas in Johore, Tanjung Bin Power Plant, Senai Airport and now going for the water supply concession…
This open daylight robberies must stop! We must all vote wisely this GE13 and ensure we put in the checks and balance or else our children and our children’s children will have a bleak existence in this once glorious nation!
It does not seem to be politics at all . It seems to be more like reimbursing the crony for the monies already spent and to be spent in this effort to retake Selangor ! This is why this new water treatment plant with an estimated cost of
rm 8.25 billion is so important .
The umno way or no way , is the message… Will the decision to not allow the state take control of syabas stick? A question that doesnt need much deliberation.. Pet projects are umno’s for keeps regardless of the outcome… The rakyat as usual come in second to the fat ass cronies..This hazardous trend is a clear indicator of how and to what extent proper management of public utilities need revamping As things are , the worrying fact is , at the rate the federal govt is pinching away big chunks of hard cash accumulated in ie:, the employee provident fund etc.. to cover extravagance in spending denotes only one perspective and that is the potentially dire prospect of turning the nation into a bankcrupt state…
This is UMNO’s way of punishing the Selangor people for having voted against them. This is UMNO’s version of “world’s best democracy”.
This 8.23 billion cost for a Water treatment plant is extremely Exorbitant, if what cetus approximates is correct. As always, political ‘interests’ for Mega projects is to siphone out money : recall what George Soros talks about ‘under counter’ monies @ 20% ? So they have to do it via cronies…. Cronies are convenient ” Conduits” for siphonage.
This cost for Treatment plant compared to the Cost of KLIA is another HUGE rip-off of taxpayers’ monies….
It is not unlikely that PR will lose votes because of this water issue. Those of us who have access to information can see for ourselves what is going on. But those who rely on msm for information might think that the Selangor government causes all these.
Why should the Selangor govt keep maintaining those old water treatment plants…?? Beside high cost to maintain it also ditched less quality water ( murky at times)…A new plant will satisfy consumers demand in the Klang Valley, with better water qualities…without the need for super-expensive unreliable water filters at home…In my view The Fed. Govt or SPAN ( national water assets manager) must appoint a new operator for the new plant instead of Syabas as higher level of professionalism is in dire need to ensure smooth flow of clean water into our taps at home…