Water issue to be solved

> Jayakumar assures Selangor residents restructuring will be completed in a month

PUTRAJAYA: Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar ( pix), the new minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources, yesterday gave the assurance that the longstanding Selangor water supply issue will be settled in one month.

He said he had held discussions with the relevant parties, including Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari, on the matter and that there were not many points left to be finalised.

“There only remains a few points to be agreed upon, but we believe it can be resolved soon. I will seek the Cabinet’s permission to extend the period for another month,” he said at a press conference.

Jayakumar, who is also Kuala Langat MP, clocked in for the first time as minister at Wisma Sumber Asli yesterday.

Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Azizan Ahmad and the directors-general of departments and agencies under the newly set up ministry were also present.

The process of restructuring the Selangor water industry has dragged on for a long time following the failure of the state government and the previous Barisan Nasional-led federal government to agree on the value of the offer for acquisition of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Sdn Bhd.

The state government only settled the acquisition of three other water concessionaires.

Jayakumar said the deadline for the restructuring of the Selangor water industry is tomorrow.

Replying to a question, the minister, who has been a Selangor state executive councillor and has held several important positions, including as a member of the Selangor Select Committee on Raw Water Resource Management since 2014, said all relevant parties must have the commitment to resolve the issue immediately.

“Let’s not talk about the past, let’s go for the future. I think we are ready to solve the problem. All parties are ready to see an end to this, and we are definitely ready to get this done within one month,” he said.

Jayakumar said the assurance to solve the water supply issue within 100 days was contained in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.

On another matter, the PKR vice-president said the moratorium on bauxite mining in Kuantan that was to have ended on June 30 had been extended indefinitely. – Bernama