GEORGE TOWN – Penang wants to put a stop in its long-standing squabble with Kedah over the supply of boundary raw water between the two neighbouring states but the latter is not keen to do likewise, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“We want to do it, but Kedah doesn’t want to,” said Chow when he was posed a question on whether the state preferred to settle the issue with Kedah and focus more on people-centric issues such as the economy and containing Covid-19.
Chow said that as far as the water issues are concerned, Kedah had only formally written to the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) instead of the state government.
“We have not received anything official (from Kedah),” Chow said after witnessing the installation of the country’s first automated external defibrillators (AED) kiosk at Karpal Singh Drive here.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor wants PBAPP to pay for the extraction of water from Sg Muda, which Penang says it has equal rights to due to the international riparian rights the island state enjoys for sharing a border with the river.
Sanusi also demanded up to RM200 million annually in compensation from Penang not to develop the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve in order to supply water in the northern region and to allow Penang to become a sovereign state.
Kedah considers Penang part of its state; as it was only leased to British colonial forces from 1786 and subsequently became its own state under the Federation when Malaya and Malaysia gained independence.
Pressed on the disputes with Kedah, Chow replied that he would answer more at the Penang Legislative Assembly sitting, which resumes tomorrow.
“If you can be patient, be ready for question eight. I will answer more then.”
Chow earlier spoke on the importance of having AED devices and people, who are trained on it to treat medical emergencies such as a heart attack.
Penang Heart Safe Society chairman Datuk Dr Luah Lean Wah pointed out that since 2015, the AED device, when administered effectively on individuals who suffered from sudden cardiac arrest, resulted in successful resuscitation of several of them.
There were up to eight survivors in the state due to the presence of AED nearby.
Among the notable cases was a student at SMK Chung Ling, whose life was saved by a trained paramedic student; a lorry driver in Paya Terubong, who fainted after a road mishap; and a jogger at the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.
Zoll Medical Corporation has donated 45 units of the AED to the society.
The AED kiosk, Luah said, is also equipped with guidelines on how to administer the machine should it encounter a nearby medical emergency. – The Vibes, November 28, 2021
