GEORGE TOWN – Penang’s looming water crisis requires politicians up north to put the entire region first instead of their own states when it comes to sustaining water resources here, Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) said.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jaseni Maidinsa said this was why PBAPP mooted an independent water authority to protect and manage the Ulu Muda catchment area, as it provides the bulk of water supply to Perlis, Kedah and Penang.
The proposed Ulu Muda Basin Authority should be set up as it benefits 4.2 million inhabitants in the north, Jaseni said of the states which are grouped together as the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).
“Ulu Muda must be managed sustainably as the key regional water catchment area,” he told The Vibes today in pushing for the proposal to be implemented.
He suggested it be modelled after the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), which manages the Murray-Darling Basin for five Australian states: Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia.
The MDBA has four priorities related to ensuring sustainable water supply, which are tackling climate change, supporting healthy rivers, encouraging wise water consumption, and securing supply – all of them the same challenges faced by the NCER states, Jaseni said.
There are mounting concerns about the future of water supply here as deforestation in the Ulu Muda area triggers alarm bells about clean water for the region.
Recent flooding in Baling, Kedah, which is upstream from Penang, has also disrupted water supply due to water turbidity affecting treatment plants’ intake points downstream at Kepala Batas and Butterworth.
The proposal for a regional water authority, however, has fallen on deaf ears in Kedah, where Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor has said it will jeopardise the state’s territorial integrity.
The federal Environment and Water Ministry, meanwhile, has said that natural resources like land and water fall under state jurisdiction and is leaving the idea of the Ulu Muda Basin Authority to the states affected.
Penang and Kedah have argued over water supply as both states depend on the Ulu Muda Basin to generate water for Sg Muda, which flows from Kedah to Penang’s side of the river boundary.
Kedah has demanded Penang compensate it RM100 million yearly because Ulu Muda is located within its territory. – The Vibes, September 10, 2022
