ALOR STAR – A menteri besar’s office spokesman has defended Kedah’s decision to construct huge water tanks along Sg Muda, a stretch of which shares the border with Penang, insisting that it is about meeting his state’s water needs.
It is not about waging “water wars” with the neighbouring state, he told The Vibes, stressing that Kedah’s plan is simply to ensure residents’ needs are fulfilled.
“It is for the irrigation of padi fields and supply to residential homes. A government must be responsible to meet the expectations of its own people. Kedah’s priority is its own people.
“Everybody knows that the water supply in Kedah is often inadequate and erratic.”
He accused the Penang government and its agencies of wanting to interfere in Kedah’s affairs and trying to portray the state as a “villain” in the matter of water extraction.
“The proposed tanks will extract raw water from the Kedah side of the border, not in Penang. What is their problem?”
Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has provided only preliminary information on what the state intends to do in terms of upgrading its water supply, he said.
“There is no need for Penang to interfere in any of Kedah’s internal dealings. What is being done by the state government is for the benefit of its own inhabitants.”
Tensions between Kedah and Penang leaders have escalated over the past few days after Sanusi disclosed plans to construct the tanks.
The proposed project sits at the mouth of the river in Lahar Tiang, which faces Penang.
Kedah has demanded payment for Penang’s use of water extracted from the latter’s side of Sg Muda.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has said his state will fight the proposal through legal means.
He said the state government will lodge a complaint with Putrajaya, bring the matter up in Parliament and consider court injunctions to prevent the project from commencing, as it will compromise Penang’s water supply.
The Kedah menteri besar’s office spokesman said if the matter reaches the courts, the state will prove that Penang has been extracting more water than Kedah, going against the spirit of riparian legality.
“We have evidence that Sg Muda is supplying 54% of water to Penang, while Kedah has only 46%.” – The Vibes, March 26, 2021
