Ongkili, not me, responsible for non-revenue water issue — Shafie
SIPITANG: Parti Warisan Sabah has slammed Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili for trying to tarnish the opposition without realising that he is solely responsible for the disastrous nonrevenue water (NRW) issue in the State.
Warisan presdient Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal claimed Ongkili tried to shift the blame for NRW in Sabah on him, saying the Minister should be ashamed of himself for bungling his facts.
“Ongkili has exposed his naivety as well as his rabid desire to tarnish my image now that I am in the opposition by trying to shift the blame on me for something that did not come under me when I served as Regional and Rural (KKLW) Minister,” said the Semporna MP.
“I challenge him to repeat outside Parliament what he had accused me of,” Shafie said to a gathering at Kampung Kebawang in Sindumin near here yesterday.
He was responding to Ongkili’s recent allegation that he (Shafie) was to be blamed for Sabah’s high incidence of NRW.
“In Selangor, he (Ongkili) conveniently blames the Menteri Besar for the water crisis there when everyone knows who is behind the debacle.
“In Sabah, anything goes wrong, it is Shafie’s fault. When it suits them, they lay the blame on others. It is outright ridiculous as all privatisation of water is handled by KeTTHA,” Shafie said.
He said the Marudu MP should check with Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan, his mentor and PBS president to find out whether the Sabah Water Department or (JANS) is under KKLW or the purview of the State government.
“As far as I am concerned KKLW is only responsible for providing the necessary infrastructure like pipes, but things like water meters and supply of treated water is the work of JANS and the State. Nothing to do with KKLW,” he said.
Shafie suggested that Ongkili’s dismal performance as minister and his inability to resolve Sabah’s water woes was probably one reason why Pairin was not willing to let go of the reins of the party leadership to his Number 2.
From 2010-2015 KKLW successfully implemented water supply projects in Sabah such as building low-capacity water treatment plants in the rural areas. At the same time pipes for water transmission purposes were installed and new reservoirs built.
By doing so, there is no opportunity for these projects to impact on the NRW.
On Thursday, Ongkili blamed the former Rural and Regional Development Minister for allegedly failing to address the NRW problem despite getting a lot of allocations during his (Shafie) tenure.
He had also said that Sabah had the worst NRW situation and that RM171 million in grants had been allocated to rectify the situation.
“The problem in Sabah saw water leakages in residential areas going up to 52 per cent,” Ongkili said in response to a question by Dr Azman Ismail (PKRKuala Kedah) at the Dewan Rakyat.
NRW is primarily defined by wastage of water due to old piping system and constant leakages.
Compared to Sabah, six other states facing issues of NRW required a much lower financial assistance to resolve them - Perlis (RM80.8 million) Kedah (RM48.7 million), Pahang (RM87.43 million), Kelantan (RM69.63 million), Sarawak (RM70.74 million) and Labuan (RM13 million).
Former Senior Manager (Operations) of SYABAS, Amarjit Singh said in Ongkili’s eagerness to attack his political rival, Ongkili had committed the elementary mistake of not getting his facts right.
He said that the NRW section under KeTTHA was at the very same ministry building Ongkili had to walk pass each time he goes to his office.
“Having been involved in several water projects in Sabah that were initiated by KKLW, I know for a fact that such projects were carried out as per specifications, but if there is no water supply, the culprit is the Water Department,” said Amarjit.
“Similarly, anything to do with NRW, the answers are best sought from the Water Department and the Sabah Ministry of Infrastructure Development, which is headed by Pairin.”
At the event in Kg Kebawang, Shafie received applications to form seven more party branches in Sindumin comprising 450 members.