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Water, Dam and Incinerator   Statement by Ronnie Liu (Petaling Jaya, Sunday): I congratulate ERA Consumer and Fomca for organizing a special forum today on issues relating to the privatization of water. It provides an opportunity for better understanding of the issue and at the same time allows us to ponder over other burning issues related to the supply of clean water for our consumption.   Damn the Dam   I like to remind the Malaysian public that the Selangor Dam, which was just completed last year and almost ready to start operation this year, could only supply enough water for Selangor residents until the year 2007. Selangor has to immediately think of other alternatives, probably buying water supply from Pahang or even Indonesia according to the MB of Selangor Khir Toyo.   The protest against the building of the humongous Selangor Dam by the DAP Selangor and other NGOs were ignored by the then MB of Selangor Abu Hassan. Apart from the shortcoming in providing sufficient water in longer term, we said NO to the dam also because the dam poses a threat to the lives and safety of the residents in Kuala Kubu Baru and detrimental to the environment, killing the local eco-tourism for good.   Our proposed alternatives which were more much more economical, viable and sensible were also rejected by the state government. We were talking about replacing the old and leaked pipelines with new ones, which could easily save about 40% of clean water, a volume that could match the supply from the new dam. We were also suggesting to get  water supply through pipelines connected to Perak River or Kenyir Dam. Both alternatives were much cheaper than building the Selangor Dam.   So, what’s point of crying over the insufficiency of the Selangor Dam even before its operation now? And the state government is now facing all kinds of problems and uncertainties. They even quarreled with some ministers in the federal level like Samy vellu and Lim Keng Yaik over the water issues.   Broga Incinerator- the Cancer Factory   The other issue close to our hearts is none other than the RM 1.5 billion Broga incinerator which will be built in the valuable Semenyih water catchment areas.   We in Selangor have suffered far too many water shortages and rationings in the past few years due to pollution of rivers. But the government never learns from its mistakes. They are now going ahead  to build the world’s largest incinerator in Broga/ Semanyih, with a potential to kill us both ways-from the poisonous gases and the toxic ashes it produced.   People living within the radius of 10 to 15 km from the incinerator are not safe from the poisonous gases emitted by the burners. Dioxins, heavy metals and other highly toxic pollutants could easily seep through the underground water system in the Semenyih water catchment areas, which were currently serving clean water to over 1.5 million people living in the Klang Valley and Putrajaya.   Besides health hazards, DAP is also very concerned with the high cost of building and maintenance of the incinerator. The proposed Broga incinerator has a life span of only 21 years, and only capable of processing 1,200 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) a day. This works out to about RM230 to burn every ton of MSW, which is 10 times more expensive than the current landfill method.   We can improve the current landfill method to minimize pollution instead of building incinerators. But the better alternative is to adopt the zero waste management system practiced effectively many countries in the west.   We urge the government to drop the plans of building incinerators and dams. Why can’t we prevent the wastage of clean water by replacing all the old and leaking pipelines immediately? And to lay pipelines to connect Perak River with Selangor river is still viable and economical. The last thing we need in this country is to build massive incinerators and dams.   As it is, Malaysian consumers have not been able to get clean and safe water straight from the taps for some time now. We should not also be bearing the high cost of clean water as a result of poor planning and management on the part of the state and federal governments.   (1/8/2004) * Ronnie Liu, DAP national publicity secretary