Selangor Can Take Over Syabas But New Water Tariff Should Not Be Burdensome - Shaziman
Written by Writer on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Selangor Can Take Over Syabas But New Water Tariff Should Not Be Burdensome - Shaziman
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) — The Selangor Government can take over Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) but it must consider consumers’ interests by ensuring the new water rates are not burdensome to the people after the takeover, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said Tuesday.
“We’ve to look at reasonable rates. Let’s say the state government buys water from Syabas at a high premium, it will also sell at a high price to consumers. Who is going to finance the whole transaction?.
“That’s my biggest concern,” he told reporters after opening “My Broadband” 2008 conference and exhibition at the Kuala lumpur Convention Centre.
Shaziman said his ministry wants to ensure the takeover of Syabas meets the conditions and procedures stipulated by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN).
The minister said he met Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on Wednesday to seek clarification on matters pertaining to Syabas’ takeover.
“I told the Selangor state government if they can speed up the whole thing, maybe we can defer for the time being (water tariff hike next year).
“But we need them to surrender all the assets to PAAB (Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd) immediately so that SPAN can look into the matter (takeover),” he said.
The state government has agreed but Shaziman said: “agreeing is one thing, to make it happen, is another.”
The Selangor government said last Tuesday it would take over Syabas if it was able to strike a deal that would benefit the people and the state.
Khalid had said the state was doing its best to restructure the water supply system to ensure consumers pay as little as possible for water.
The Menteri Besar however said he was not in a position to reveal the takeover cost as it would be made known to the public after the deal had been concluded.
Khalid said he would be able to announce it by December.
Touching on negotiations between the ministry and independent power producers on power purchase agreements, Shaziman said: “We have not entered into new negotiations. We plan to bring back to the Cabinet. We have to wait and see what is the Cabinet’s decision on that.”
“We are getting the blueprint for the energy sector. The consultant has delivered it to the ministry but the ministry needs more information from the consultant. We need to wait for them to get back to us,” he said.
On the progress of the High Speed Broad Band project, Shaziman said the ministry has set up a steering committee to monitor the multi-billion ringgit project’s progress.
He said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and telecommunication companies have also established consultative committees to discuss issues on the massive project particularly on “open access.”
Shaziman said Telekom Malaysia (TM) must start implementing the RM11.3 billion project within six months from the date of signing the agreement on Sept 16.
“I hope the project will have an impact on the industry,” he added.
Commenting on the project implementation, TM Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Zamzairani Mohd Isa said the company was finalising plans to start implementing the project at commercial level.
“At the initial stage of six months, we cannot expect a large number (of penetrations).”
He said TM had no problems to finance the project.
“We’ve cash. It should not be a problem,” he added.
The Government will invest RM2.4 billion over a three-year period while TM will inject RM8.9 billion for more than 10 years to complete the project.
– BERNAMA
