11th Malaysia Plan and redundancy

We all remember the burst pipe at Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya that flung a car 10m into the air in April 2010 as reported by media. Yes, that was one of the projects under them.

One of the reasons SPAN was formed was due to the failure of JBA and JPP.

Leaving these entities operational will cause more regulatory deadlocks and implementation problems as SPAN does not have the power to control and monitor what these redundant agencies do.

These two entities are also used as stumbling blocks to checkmate SPAN’s work.

Now, the federal government must take the right step to close down the two agencies and improve delivery efficiency of existing agencies and entities under the ministry.

By closing down these redundant agencies, the government will be able to save millions of ringgit, prevent a regulatory deadlock, stop white elephant ventures and improve overall delivery to the rakyat and business community.

Furthermore, the government must also ensure that the energy minister and senior officials abide by duties and responsibilities clearly spelled out in the SPAN Act, WSIA, Energy Commission Act and Electricity Supply Act.

Issues like development funds contributed by developers for sewerage in Peninsular Malaysia under SPAN, being used to buy mobile water treatment plants in Sabah (not under SPAN’s regulatory jurisdiction), should not have taken place.

All decisions should be based on regulatory powers vested to rightful entities and the least cost pass-through to tariff to ensure fair and competitive pricing on tariffs.

Some of the 9th and 10th Malaysia plans under the ministry are still delayed. To serve is noble and the ministry holds important portfolios but implementation is rather murky.

Do not shatter the future on our beloved nation with redundancy and incompetency.

This article was contributed by Piarapakaran S, president of the Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation involved in research and development in the fields of water, energy and environment.