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Keng Yaik agrees to attend parliamentary
roundtable on water services on Friday if it does not clash with his
engagements Media Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang(Petaling Jaya, Saturday): Minister for Energy, Water and Communications Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik has agreed to attend the parliamentary roundtable on water services in Parliament House on Friday if it does not clash with his other engagements. I extended the invitation to Keng Yaik to attend the parliamentary roundtable on water services when I met him at the Trooping of the Colours by the Malaysian Armed Forces in conjunction with the official birthday celebration of the Yang di Pertuan Agong at Dataran Merdeka this morning.
Keng Yaik said he would attend the parliamentary roundtable if his calendar is free.
I asked him to send a representative such as the Deputy Minister for Energy, Water and Communications to the parliamentary roundtable should he be unable to make it. I reminded him that his Ministry had not kept its word of 20th April 2005 to give to MPs within three weeks the two water bills, the Water Services Industry Bill and the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) Bill, for study and consultation – for six weeks have actually passed.
The proposal of a parliamentary roundtable (which would be the third to be organized by the Parliamentary Opposition Leader’s Office) was conceived after the promise by the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications on 20th April 2005 to make available the two water bills to all MPs within three weeks. As six weeks have now passed, with the increased pace of unchecked water privatization in the various states, a parliamentary roundtable dialogue on the present state-of-the-play on water federalization and privatization is urgently warranted.
The Parliamentary roundtable on water services, which would be open to all stakeholders in the water services industry, will be held at Committee Room 2, Parliament House next Friday, 10th June 2005 at 10 a.m. Water consultants of Federal and State governments, water companies, the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, FOMCA and MTUC are also invited to participate at the roundtable.
(04/06/2005)
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