KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has lambasted the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led Selangor government for allegedly breaking its pledge to provide free water to the people in the state.
Najib said the hike in commercial water tariffs for Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur could not come at a worst time as Malaysians are faced with the rising cost of living and services.
The Pekan MP said that the tariff rate increase would also contribute to rising inflation.
“What happened to your promise for free water, PH?” he asked on Facebook as quoted by The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal Getaran.
“The 30% increase in tariff from RM2.07 to RM2.62 per cubic metre currently does not help with the high rate of inflation that we are dealing with now.
“This will only add to the rising cost of doing business as well as general goods and services. But when prices of goods shoot up, you slam the federal government instead,” he said.
Yesterday, Selangor Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Modernisation of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman Izham Hashim said that the average increase in the rate is still considered low and does not involve domestic users.
“For non-domestic use, including commercial and industrial, the increase is from RM2.07 to RM2.62 for zero to 35 cubic metres, and from RM2.28 to RM2.86 for over 35 cubic metres,” he had told a media conference yesterday.
“For houses of worship, the calculation using the pro-rate (per cubic metre) of 46 sen rises to 58 sen for each cubic metre.
“For the ship category, every cubic metre will rise from RM4.23 to RM7,” he added – The Vibes, July 30, 2022
