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Sg Selangor Dam all ready for flooding. But what is the point now
that the MB of Selangor has admittedly said that the supply of the dam
would be sufficient for only two years?
Media Statement
by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew
(Petaling Jaya,
Monday):
The Sungei Selangor Dam, the outcome of the Sg Selangor Phase Three project
by SPLASH, in Kuala Kubu Baru has finally been plugged.The official plugging
ceremony was done by Selangor MB Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo last
Friday. Khir Toyo has admittedly said that the supply of the dam would be
sufficient for only two years. He even said that the state would have to
source water from Pahang or Sumatra, Indonesia.
The RM2.14 billion dam is estimated to take about 18 months to reach full
impoundment. Once fully operational in 2005, the dam is expected to provide
45% of the water supply for Selangor and the Federal Teritory.
DAP Selangor has voiced our strong objection together with other
environmental groups to the dam project before it started works three years
ago. Besides stating all the negative impact of the dam on environment and
the danger of the dam itself, we have even worked out several alternatives,
which were much cheaper, more sound and practical than the damn dam! These
include laying pipes all the way to Pahang or Perak to link up with the
Selangor River, changing the leaking pipes which were said to waste up to
40% of clean, processed water, plus an awareness campaign on saving water
and natural resources.
The Selangor government under the leadership of Datuk Abu Hassan Omar at
that time knew pretty well that the supply of water from the Selangor Dam
project could last for not more than two years, and the state eventually
would need to source water from Pahang and elsewhere. And yet they went
ahead with the dam project right after the last general elections. The
recent statement made by Khir only served to confirm what we already know
about the dam and its limitations.
Sooner or later, even before the Selangor Dam is fully operational, every
household in the Klang Valley will have to fork out very much more to pay
their water bills. This is just another price for voting in the Barisan
Nasional.
(5/5/2003)
* Ronnie Liu, DAP national public secretary and Selangor state secretary
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