‘Water profiteering concerns raised in Sabah assembly months ago’

KOTA KINABALU – Concerns about profiteering by third parties selling treated water to consumers during water cuts were raised to the state government months ago, even before a report was lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), a Warisan leader said.

Party vice-president Datuk Junz Wong said he had raised the issue in the Sabah assembly sitting in May.

Wong had made the report together with Warisan information chief Datuk Azis Jamman on Wednesday.

Wong said there has been no reply from the authorities until now.

“I have raised this matter nicely. I did it through the proper channel at the state assembly. But they told me to write in so a response could be done. 

“So I wrote in and passed it by hand to the minister-in-charge, Sabah Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya. 

He (Shahelmey) promised he would get back to me, but never did that,” Wong told The Vibes.

Shahelmey yesterday welcomed the MACC probe into the matter.

Wong said he had even named the private companies who inflated the price of water in his letter to Shahelmey.

Wong also said he had informed the state minister that a report would be lodged with MACC if there is no response from the state government.

Transporting treated water into areas experiencing water cuts has been one of the short-term fixes to Sabah’s long-standing water supply problems, with rationing ongoing since May.

Rationing has been carried out to stabilise supply amid demand, which has surpassed supply for years, in part due to poor infrastructure.

The Vibes reported on this issue on July 19 after several Sabah assemblymen highlighted the problem at the Likas Women and Children’s Hospital, and in Sandakan and Tawau.

Shahelmey has said that he is waiting for a full report from the state Water Department to explain the situation.

He admitted that while the sale of treated water is allowed, the Sabah Water Department had only charged RM3 per cubic metre, whereas private companies are charging between RM14 and RM28 per cubic metre.

Wong, meanwhile, said the alleged profiteering had affected hotels, condominiums, and businesses.

He said those affected did not dare come forward for fear of repercussions. – The Vibes, July 29, 2023