2 theSun | WEDNESDAY APRIL 15 2009

news without borders

Selangor wants Keng

Yaik in water talks
by Maria J. Dass negotiation on behalf of the
Muhyiddin: I did not call
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: Selangor

has proposed that former en-
ergy, water and communica-
tions minister Tun Dr Lim
Keng Yaik be included in
negotiations on the restructur-
ing of the water industry in the
state in view of his expertise
and familiarity with the Water
Services Industry Act (WSIA)
2006 and the country’s water
industry.
A statement from the
mentri besar’s office said the
state viewed positively reports
that the federal government
is ready to allow Selangor to
conduct negotiations on the
restructuring of water services
and subsequently take over
the state’s water industry.
Mentri Besar Tan Sri
Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said
the latest statement by the
federal government is in line
with the intention of WSIA
which was primarily enacted
to restructure and improve
the efficiency of the water
industries in Malaysia.
He said Selangor is ready
to resume discussions and
stressed the need to ensure
that all three groups – the
state, the federal government
and the water concessionaires
– are well represented to arbi-
trate the negotiation process.
“For this purpose, the state
would like to propose Lim,
who is very familiar with the
Water Services Industry Act
(WSIA) 2006 and the country’s
water industry, to lead the
federal government,” he said.
The state is confident that
together with the representa-
tives of the state and the con-
cessionaires, Lim will be able
to conduct a fair negotiation,
he added.
“We hope that the negotia-
tions will reach a conclusion
that is in the interest of the
public,” Abdul Khalid said,
adding that Selangor was
committed to increasing the
efficiency of the water indus-
try, reduce tariffs and main-
tain free water for the first 20
cu m for all households in the
state.
A tariff hike of 31%
(brought down from the
original 37% as per the con-
cession agreement) has been
postponed since Jan 1. The
state has via its investment
arm Kumpulan Darul Ehsan
Bhd been attempting to take
over the water industry in the
state from concession compa-
nies, namely Puncak Niaga
Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Bekalan Air
Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas),
Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai
Selangor Bhd (Splash) and
Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd
(Abass).
Negotiations have been
going on since the last quarter
of 2008. This is to avert the
scheduled hikes up to the
year 2035 as contained in the
concession agreement. There
are concerns over the high
penalty that will be incurred
by the state, through compen-
sation, if the hikes are further
delayed.
Chinese ‘ungrateful’
by Tim Leonard
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Min-
ister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
yesterday said his statements
over the coalition’s loss in Bukit
Gantang had been twisted and
misrepresented by some vernacu-
lar newspapers, causing him to be
criticised by various quarters.
Speaking to reporters after
taking office as the new education
minister yesterday, Muhyiddin
denied saying that Chinese voters
were ungrateful to the Barisan
Nasional
He lashed out at the irresponsi-
ble reporting, saying: “If they don’t
understand the Malay language,
then we can send them back to
school”.
Muhyiddin said what he meant
was why the Chinese voters looked
as if they did not appreciate BN and
voted for the ruling coalition in the
BERNAMA PIX
SMELL’S GOOD ...
Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Abdul Razak tries his
hand at making “capati”
when he dropped by at
the Tatt Khalsa Diwan Sikh
temple in Jalan Raja Alang,
Kuala Lumpur, yesterday,
to join in the Vaisakhi
celebrations.
recent Bukit Gantang by-election,
as it was his sincere desire to
know what happened.
He said he wanted to analyse
the situation (on the defeat) and
not as reported in the media.
“I did not call the Chinese un-
grateful,” he said.
“My statements were twisted
and (I was) misquoted,” he said,
referring to the newspapers which
published several follow-up
articles based on his interview with
Mingguan Malaysia last week.
If they don’t
understand the
Malay language,
then we can send
them back to
school.”
Muhyiddin said he had only
wanted to know why the Chinese
community’s confidence (in BN)
was not reflected in the ballot box
and he had said it only within the
confines of the by-election result.
It was reported in the media
early this week that Muhyiddin said
the Chinese voters were ungrateful
by not voting for BN even though
the government had assisted the
community in many ways.
The statements drew sharp
responses from the Chinese com-
munity, particularly from Gerakan
and MCA.
Gerakan’s deputy president
Datuk Chang Ko Youn was quoted
in the media as disagreeing with
Muhyiddin while MCA’s response
was to provide a list of issues that
could have caused the Chinese
community to turn away from the
BN.
» See also Page 7

Sludge lagoons not properly maintained

» From Front Page
at the site on April 3, 7 and 8
after which it is understood
that the department told
the company to maintain its
lagoons, desludge the ponds
and stop the flow of sludge
into monsoon drains.
It was also told to clean up
areas affected by the sludge
without spillage into Sungai
Selangor, and to revaluate the
design of its “sludge drying
bed” to ensure it is in ac-
cordance with standards and
to prevent rain water from
seeping in.
Sources say DOE found three
of the four lagoons full and not
maintained properly while the
fourth was 80% full. There was
also evidence that the effluents
from the sludge lagoons had
been drained into the monsoon
drain that leads into the river.
The sludge drying bed was
poorly designed and managed,
causing rain water to collect
and fill the drying bed, affect-
ing sludge drying.
The ponds were last des-
ludged in 2007 and 2005.
Sources said samples of
the effluent and sludge have
been sent for analysis, and
further action will depend on
the results of this analysis and
the extent to which regula-
tions and standards were
breached.
It is learnt a copy of the
report was given to the mentri
besar’s office which had also
received complaints on the
pollution of the river.
theSun contacted Puncak
Niaga for a response, but till
press time, a response was
not forthcoming.
PNSB holds five water
treatment concessions with
the Selangor government, and
is the nation’s second largest
water supply concessionaire,
operating, managing and
maintaining 29 water treat-
ment plants with a combined
capacity of 1,930 million litres
per day.

Study on teaching Science, Maths in English ready

PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Yassin said the study on
the policy of teaching and
learning Science and Math-
ematics in English has been
completed and ready to be
tabled before the cabinet.
Muhyiddin, who is also
education minister, said
the study took some time
as the ministry also needed
feedback from all the minis-
tries concerned.
He declined to reveal
more as he had not seen
the study paper nor had
he been briefed on the
outcome.
“But I will be briefed
and at the ministerial level,
we will see what the best
options are,” he said after
meeting the ministry’s
senior officers on ministe-
rial matters yesterday.
– Bernama