[UPDATED] Free water supply for households earning up to RM5,000: Air Selangor

KUALA LUMPUR – Applications are open for Selangor’s restructured targeted free water supply scheme for the first 20mᶟ with the income threshold for households now raised to RM5,000, said Air Selangor.

The state’s water treatment and distribution operator said this on its website and in a tweet on February 5, adding that applicants representing their household must be Malaysian and must reside in the state.

“(The scheme applies to) households earning up to RM5,000 monthly (which includes the income of foreign national spouses for married couples; or for unmarried households,” Air Selangor said regarding the criteria on its website.

The scheme, called Skim Air Darul Ehsan, can only be applied for one account or premises.

As for residents in low-cost apartments who are billed through a bulk meter account, they will continue to receive free supply for 20mᶟ until December 2024, Air Selangor added.

As for those moving houses within the state, they can re-apply for their new premises after filling up another form to terminate the previous account.

Selangor residents who meet the criteria can apply through a form downloadable at www.ssipr.selangor.gov.my or at Air Selangor’s official website.

Selangor’s free water scheme was introduced as a blanket subsidy for all households in 2008 when Pakatan Harapan, then the federal opposition, won the state and took over its administration.

In 2019, it announced that the free water scheme would be restructured to become a targeted subsidy, with RM4,000 as the threshold for eligible households beginning March 2020, before another restructuring to raise the threshold to RM5,000 last year.

When announcing the latest restructuring in December, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said another 100,000 households would be able to enjoy the scheme, at a cost of RM30 million to the state government. – The Vibes, February 7, 2023