Kedah should not impose raw water charges on Penang because Penang Water Supply Authority(PBAPP) is drawing raw water from the Penang side of the Muda River at no cost to Kedah. As such, Kedah’s proposal to charge Penang for raw water was unreasonable and akin to asking for money for nothing.
He said it was wrong for Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid to state that Penang was “supplied with raw water drawn from Sungai Muda” as reported in an English daily on 11 June 2013.
Firstly, Kedah is not supplying raw water to Penang. The Muda River flows through Penang naturally. We draw water from the river ourselves using our own water supply infrastructure, at our own cost. Since there is no cost on Kedah’s side, why should there be any charges?
Secondly, the Muda River is a natural water resource and not a man-made project like the Johor-Malacca water transfer scheme. Why do we have to pay for drawing water now from a natural resource that has been flowing through our state for centuries?
Penang drawing water from Sungai Muda inside Penang’s borders is NOT like Johor pumping water from inside Johor’s borders to Malacca
The 11 June 2013 news report quoted Deputy Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid as saying that there was “strong case” for Kedah to charge Penang for water because a “precedent (had been) set by Johor which charges Malacca (for water)”. Mahdzir is confused as both cases are very different.
Johor is charging Malacca for raw water because there are infrastructure and operational costs incurred by Johor under the Sungai Muar-Melaka Interbasin Water Transfer Scheme. Johor had to put in place infrastructure to pump the water to Malacca daily and the pumping also incurs energy, fuel and maintenance costs.
I do not wish to comment in detail on the amount of the charges – that is between Johor and Malacca. However, it is fair to say that there are grounds for charges because there are costs borne by Johor for river water that does not pass through Melaka nor its river path shared with Melaka.
Johor is pumping water to Malacca using man-made infrastructure at Johor’s cost. Penang is drawing water from Sungai Muda that flows naturally through Penang at our own cost. These are two totally different scenarios. I would like to reiterate that Kedah is not incurring any cost when Penang draws water from Sungai Muda from our side.
Before Opening His Mouth, Deputy Energy Green Technology And Water Minister Should Understand The Concept Of Riparian Rights Which Entitles Landowners Or Countries To Benefit From the Natural Flow Of Water Resources Through Their Land Or Country.
From Penang’s viewpoint, the Muda River is a shared raw water resource for Penang and Kedah. This Muda river is a natural geographical feature that defines the boundary of Penang and Kedah.
In accordance to riparian rights, or water rights, the owners of lands near a natural raw water resource may be entitled to natural flow, reasonable use and beneficial use. For this reason, before opening his mouth, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid should understand the concept of riparian rights.
For example, the Mekong River originates in China, and runs through Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. All these countries share the rights to use the Mekong River. There are no raw water charges involved because no country can claim exclusive ownership of the river. Other example of river systems being shared without imposing any charges includes the Nile and the Mississippi river systems.
I know that Mahdzir wants to show his loyalty to Kedah even at the expense of cementing his reputation as an ignorant Deputy Minister. However he should remember as Deputy Malaysian Minister, he represents the whole country and not just his home state of Kedah.
Why should Penang pay for water now when BN had never pressed for Kedah’s payment claims when BN was ruling Penang, but only now that Penang pay up after BN lost Penang. Does this means that riparian rights existed then when BN was ruling but not now when PR is ruling Penang? Instead of demanding money from Penang for water, which was never demanded nor paid by Penang in history, Mahdzir should reject Kedah’s unreasonable request for water charges.