Administrators blamed for water shortage
> They allowed problem to drag on for years, says Wan Junaidi
SERI KEMBANGAN: Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has blamed certain former and current federal and state administrators for the water shortage in several states.
The Natural Resources and Environment minister said these administrators had lacked vision, subsequently allowing the issue of insufficient water supply in some states to drag on for years.
He said despite the country producing a large amount of rainwater each year – amounting to 107 billion cubic metre – only 10% of the amount is being harvested for use.
“There are states with insufficient water, five states in fact. So what’s the problem? Maybe we didn’t have much money back then. But the federal and state administrators were not visionary, and the water shortage issue was not dealt with,” he said during his visit to the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia yesterday.
The minister, however, did not say who the individuals were.
Later at a press conference, Wan Junaidi said the five states affected by water shortage were Selangor, Kedah, Perlis, Johor and Malacca.
He said the main contributing factors were that the rainwater was not being harvested or that rivers were getting shallower due to industrialisation and logging activities, among others.
To address the problem, Wan Junaidi said the ministry is setting up a “water balance system”, which would allow states with water surplus to transfer water to those with insufficient supply.
“We are still studying the system and will do it in stages. But what’s most important is that the states must be together in this,” he said.
Wan Junaidi added he hoped to bring the matter up in Parliament this year, after receiving the go ahead from the AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers and the states concerned.