The Selangor government’s Water Review Panel has accused federal Water Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor of being more interested in protecting the private interests of businessmen rather than the Selangor and KL public.
In a Berita Harian interview yesterday, Sharizan had given two reasons for wanting to speed up the restructuring of the Selangor water industry:
- to take over the water concessionaires’ assets by 31 March and avert a water tariff hike and
- to assist the concession companies in bearing the costs of borrowings and bonds that they currently cannot afford.
In contrast, the Water Review Panel stressed in a statement that there would be no increase in tariffs should the Selangor government take over the assets.
The Selangor government had written to the Minister asking him to terminate the concession agreement with private water distribution firm Syabas “due to their blatant breaches of the concession agreement”.
Despite Syabas’ obvious poor performance, lack of efficiency and corrupt practices, the Ministry still intends to give the operating license back to them after ending the concession agreement. This is totally unacceptable as the federal government appears to be rewarding its cronies.
Assisting the concessionaires with their costs of borrowings and bonds is tantamount to an unacceptable bailout of these concessionaires, said the Panel:
These private concessions have leveraged themselves to the maximum but at the same time, have paid themselves lucrative dividends. Hence, there is absolutely no justification for “helping” the concessionaires pay off these debt.
This is yet another example of privatising profit and socialising losses i.e. letting the rakyat pay for the inefficiencies of Syabas and Puncak.
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Privatisation, (or more accurately, “piratisation” as coined by LKS) was and continues to be UMNO’s money-making machineg (3M’s), a tragic legacy left by (2M’s). Many Malaysians remember when Karpal Singh provoked M on the North South Highway privatisation under UEM (and UMNO’s Hatibudi Nominees Sdn Bhd), M in a moment of anger and desperation blurted “Who is going to pay for the PWTC Complex (UMNO’s Headquarters which was mired heavily in debt)?”. The rest, as they say, is history, when M launched the infamous “Operation Lallang” and LKS lost in the UEM case on the issue of “locus standi” (no… Read more »
It’s obvious to anyone with eyes. BN fights for the big toll companies, power companies, water companies, oil companies, etc. PR fights for the rakyat. You don’t join BN unless they have something to offer you. You join PR to serve voluntarily without pay.
It’s such a HUGE contrast!
As long as BN is the goverment don’t harap for any sympathy..!
Don’t harap for anything either……….!!!!!!!!!!!!
Consider this as one more issue to bring up for the coming by-elections.
Explain & make sure the constituents understand how the current Government is looking after the “welfare” of the RAKYAT. Of course, the RAKYAT I mentioned is not you or me or the common citizen of this land called MALAYSIA.
A famous Salongoor son of soil, who happens to be so good in going after women to finsh them politically!….where he is ?….why he is not talking much about water issues of Salangoor? …..
when the economy is getting worse, they just ‘squeeze’ the people to make back their loses. what kind of government we are having.