Kedah warns PBAPP to stop meddling in state affairs

ALOR STAR – The Kedah government has issued a final warning to the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) not to interfere in the state’s internal affairs, especially on the issue of water catchment areas in the Ulu Muda forest reserve.

Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said that Kedah is a sovereign state, with territories administered by the sultan and the state government, and adheres to its state constitution.

“I want to advise PBAPP not to interfere in Kedah’s matters. Ulu Muda is Kedah land,” he told reporters after chairing the exco meeting today.

He was commenting on PBAPP’s proposal for the establishment of the Ulu Muda Basin Authority (LLUM) to protect water catchments at the Muda, Pedu, and Ahning dams, which among other things demanded that all logging activities in Ulu Muda be banned.

PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa proposed LLUM as a reaction to the move by the Environment and Water Ministry to set up the Sg Muda Basin Authority (LLSM) as a way to resolve the dispute between Kedah and Penang over water supply from Sg Muda.

Sanusi said that the ministry’s proposal to set up LLSM was to regulate Sg Muda in line with the provisions of the federal constitution, referring to the area between Kg Sg Muda in Pantai Perai to the estuary only.

“But LLUM wants it to reach Ulu Muda in the Kedah area. PBAPP often touches on Ulu Muda and this shows that Penang is completely dependent on raw water sources from Kedah, but at the same time refuses to pay (raw water charges) when we make a claim.

“If we want to take into account the issue of water originating from Kedah for the benefit of Penang, please make a payment as Syarikat Air Darul Aman pays the Kedah State Water Resources Board,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sanusi said that the ministry had approved the construction of two of 14 riverside reservoirs projects to retain excess water in Sg Muda, as announced by the Kedah government recently.

The project, which received an allocation from the ministry, aims to increase the water supply in Kedah and stabilise the river’s water level during the dry season. – Bernama, May 5, 2021