KUALA LUMPUR – Warisan leader Datuk Azis Jamman has urged the authorities to investigate the sale of water in Sabah for possible corruption, following complaints that private companies are profiteering from dry taps by selling treated water at high prices to consumers.
Aziz, Warisan’s information chief, and party vice-president Datuk Junz Wong today lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on the matter in Putrajaya.
“Is this (water) crisis (in Sabah) manufactured so that certain parties can make a profit? We urge MACC to investigate thoroughly.
“Third parties are selling treated water from the water department to the public at many times higher than the tariff,” Azis said at a press conference outside the MACC headquarters.
He also said he was not sure how long the sale of treated water by third parties had been going on, but that the matter of exorbitant tariffs came to light after the management of condominiums and hotels began complaining recently.
Azis said the sale by third parties was about 10 to 15 times higher than the usual tariff.
The Vibes first 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.
Yesterday, deputy chief minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said no third parties had been given authorisation to sell treated water to the public, and that he was waiting for a full report from the state water department to explain the situation.
Shahelmey, who is also state works minister, previously acknowledged that there is evidence of some private transporters profiting by inflating the prices of water supply sold to consumers, usually by tanker-loads.
Various parts of Sabah have been hit with severe water cuts in recent times, leading to Putrajaya approving a RM320 million fund to implement short-term fixes for the state’s water supply. – The Vibes, July 27, 2023
