April 5, 2021 3:53 PM
PETALING JAYA: Water operators should also be penalised for disruptions in supply to users, a consumer group has urged.
Speaking at a forum on the right to clean water today, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) president Marimuthu Nadason said water disruptions continue to be the norm as there are no laws which set out penalties for the water operators.
Marimuthu pointed out that there were 29 water cuts in the Klang Valley last year alone, and with each water cut lasting a minimum of one and a half days. Consumers in the Klang Valley had to deal with 45 days without water in 2020 – but have still had to pay their water bill in full.
Instead, the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) has key performance indexes which water operators must meet, failing which they could lose their licences. A federal body, SPAN is the executive authority protecting water supply and services in the country.
“This (water disruptions) is still happening due to something simple. The law is not clear about punishment, especially for water operators,” he said.
“In the UK, if there is a planned disruption, water operators have to reimburse (consumers) if their water is not back on within 48 hours. If it is a planned disruption, the water has to be back on in 12 hours.
“In Malaysia, due to the lack of laws to punish water operators, these disruptions are still happening,” he added at the forum.
There were two river pollution incidents which caused unscheduled water cuts in the Klang Valley last October alone, with the first incident affecting 1,292 areas and disrupting water supply to 1.19 million users after four water treatment plants were closed.
In September, nearly 1.2 million consumers in the Klang Valley were affected by water cuts after four treatment plants ceased operations due to pollution from a factory.
Organised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, the forum saw various stakeholders discuss access to clean water as a basic human right and address gaps and challenges.
Noting that the country’s water maintenance culture is “very weak”, Marimuthu said the issue needs a relook – especially with reports of non-revenue water reaching up to 57% in some states.
The Fomca president also compared Malaysia with Singapore, which he said was a “leader” in water issues and maintenance and hosts a well-attended international water conference every year – the Singapore International Water Week.
“In Singapore, they change their pipes every three or four years. Here, it’s 30 or 40 years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Water Association president Abdul Kadir Mohd Din called for a greater emphasis on research and development (R&D) in the water industry – and proposed that it be backed by a fund bankrolled by consumers.
Kadir proposed that consumers be given the ability to round off their water bills by a few cents, with the money to be put into a “properly monitored” fund dedicated to R&D.
“What is it to any consumer if they round off the figure (water bill) by two or three cents? These two or three cents go into a coffer known as a R&D fund, and all the consumers own that technology,” he said.
“If rivers are polluted, we want to clean them without disrupting water supply. There are technologies for that.”