I refer to the statement made by the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Maximus Ongkili on 13 March 2018. He was reported to have said “If (the people of) Selangor are smart and vote back a BN state government, myself (Maximus Ongkili), the prime minister and the cabinet, can give the assurance that within a year we can solve all these (water) problems.” (https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/415465) In fact, Prime Minister Najib Razak made a similar statement on 7 March 2018 – “Barisan Nasional would solve the Selangor water crisis if it managed to wrest back the state.” (https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/41578/)
It is not surprising that the Barisan Nasional government has again shown its true colour – a government that doesn’t care about the people when it has all the power to act now under the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) 2006. Furthermore, the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) who reports to the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water is responsible to regulate and oversee the performance of the players in the water services industry, including SPLASH.
The immense suffering of the people in Selangor should not be taken lightly and more so, not used as a political tool when the Federal Government has the power to act now. If the people of Selangor do not vote for Barisan Nasional, can we safely assume that the people would continue to suffer from water supply sabotages? We have always suspected sabotage to be a possibility but BN’s true colour during this time of crisis has only strengthened our suspicion. As the saying goes – ‘Baling batu sembunyi tangan’ but we see their hidden hand so clearly at work here.
Barisan Nasional must stop dangling water, a basic need, as an election carrot. That is politicking at its worst and most irresponsible, evil and inhumane of the BN led Federal Government. I urge the people of Selangor to remember this when they go to the polls.