Don’t answer if you don’t understand, Irmohizam tells Selangor MB

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Selangor member of parliament Datuk Seri Dr Irmohizam Ibrahim has advised Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali that the latter “need not bother answering” if he is unable to understand the water crisis plaguing his state.

Irmohizam also urged Azmin not to react in a hysterical manner when faced with criticism over the state’s water woes, as it not only muddied matters, but also would not solve the problems.

He said the revelations by Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang on the reasons for Selangor’s water woes should be treated as constructive criticism.

“The Selangor government should accept it as a means to improve its management of the state’s water resources and industry.

“Azmin’s response, however, failed to touch on the treated water reserves, and instead referred to the water level in the state’s dams.

“The people of Selangor are not looking for rain water, or for water to be supplied directly from the dams. They want safe, treated water,” he said yesterday.

On March 12, Zaini was quoted as saying that the Selangor water reserve margin, which stands at zero, could face even bigger woes if there was an increase in demand for treated water in areas facing disruptions.

Azmin, however, in his response, had replied that the ample level of water in Selangor’s dams was not “fake news, but a fact.”

“The Sungai Selangor, Sungai Tinggi and Sungai Semenyih dams are at 100 per cent, while Sungai Langat is at 99.95 per cent. The Klang Gate dam is at 99.8 per cent; Sungai Batu at 99.63 per cent; Sungai Labu at 99.78 per cent, and Tasik Subang at 99.2 per cent.

“He (Zaini) doesn’t understand. I would like to invite the minister and the secretary-general to view the dams, so they can see whether they are empty or otherwise.

“After we’re done viewing, we can throw them all into the dam,” Azmin was quoted as saying.

Irmohizam said the Selangor menteri besar’s understanding of the subject appeared to have deviated from the actual problems plaguing the state’s water industry.

“Don’t bother to answer if you don’t know. Don’t get so emotional to the extent that you want to throw the ministry’s secretarygeneral into the dam,” he said.

Umno information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa, commenting on the issue, said the incident merely underscored the importance of having leaders who understood key issues under their administration.

“The Selangor MB presented the statistics of the water level in the state’s dams, where almost all are at 100 per cent. Of course, it is just a coincidence that it is the rainy season.

“When you speak on reserve capacity for consumers, we have to look at treated water, not raw water in the dams. People do not use raw water from the seas and rivers.

“A state that has good water management must be able to show a healthy, treated water reserve. It is unfortunate that the Selangor MB has yet to understand this,” he said.

The state’s PKR government had come under fire for using allocations provided by the Federal Government to provide free water to Selangor folk, instead of using it to restructure the state’s water industry.

Selangor, said experts, had among the lowest water reserve margins among all the states in Peninsular Malaysia, thanks to its water restructuring exercise delay. This means that its infrastructure and delivery system is outdated and running beyond capacity.