GEORGE TOWN – Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy has amplified the state’s call for the formation of a regional water authority to resolve the altercation with neighbour Kedah over the extraction of raw water from Sg Muda.
As the Kedah government is demanding compensation from Penang for taking water from the river by using the excuse that it originates from the Ulu Muda forest reserve area in Kedah, Ramasamy said the best bet, for now, would be a water authority for the northern region.
The authority can ensure a cost-effective and efficient distribution system for the three states of Perlis, Kedah and Penang.
Incidentally, the northern region is the top recipient of foreign direct investments in the country in the first two quarters of this year.
In a social media post, he took Environment and Water Resources Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man to task for apparently siding with Kedah on the matter.
He said Tuan Ibrahim has run out of ideas in talking about the future needs of water in the country.
“He seems to be echoing the words of the Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Sanusi Md Nor that Penang is obliged to pay for the water drawn from Sg Muda,” said Ramasamy.
Tuan Ibrahim, who is deputy president of PAS, had made the comment to reporters on the sidelines of the gathering of the party’s youth, muslimat and ulama wings at the party’s headquarters at Kota Sarang Semut in Kedah.
Incidentally, Sanusi is a Kedah state deputy commissioner in PAS.
“Tuan Ibrahim said that even though Penang draws water from its side of the Sg Muda, the source is in Kedah.
“Thus, by not contributing to the preservation of the Ulu Muda catchment area, the responsibility has fallen on the Kedah state government,” said Ramasamy.
“I am flabbergasted by the flimsy argument of Tuan Ibrahim. I certainly didn’t expect him to come up with such an illogical argument.”
He stressed that whether Penang sources its water supply from Sg Muda with its origins in the hills of Ulu Muda or not, the water catchment area must be protected in the long-term interests of people in the northern states.
It is no more a choice between extraction of timber or saving the sources of water supply, said Ramsamy.
“Tuan Ibrahim cannot pretend that he is not in the know of the proposals by the Penang state to the federal government for the establishment of a northern water authority or called Ulu Muda Water Authority.”
“If such an authority is established through the intervention of the federal government in general and the Environment and Water Ministry, then the long-term water needs of states like Perlis, Kedah and Penang can be addressed.”
Penang simply cannot make a financial commitment without a long-term strategy and solution for the water needs in the three northern states, he added
Currently, it enjoys the Riparian rights of withdrawing water from its side of Sg Muda.
“In fact, the boundary between Kedah and Penang runs through the middle of the river.
“In fact, due to the meandering of the river, Penang might have lost some ground to Kedah over the years. There is no quarrel about the source of Sg Muda, but Penang is not the mere repository of the benefits,” he said – The Vibes, September 4, 2022
