Penang spurns Kedah’s demand for RM50 mil annual water payment

GEORGE TOWN – Penang will not meet Kedah's demands for an annual payment of RM50 million for extracting water from Sg Muda, which flows through both states.
 
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today said that, as per international water laws, Penang has the legal and protective right to extract water from the parts of Sg Muda that runs through the state.
 
Yesterday, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammed Sanusi Md Nor demanded that Penang settle its demand of RM50 million for extracting water from Sg Muda, which flows some 100km away from the Ulu Muda catchment area near Baling.
 
Chow confirmed that the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBA) has received a notice of demand from Kedah, and the public listed firm has replied that it will not pay the sum.
 
Under international law, Penang has a right to source the river water from Penang's end.
 
Chow also suggested that a national water council be formed to mediate the dispute between Kedah and Penang.
 
He also said that Penang will support Kedah if it presses the federal government for compensation, should the latter move to gazette the Ulu Muda catchment area as a protected forest reserve.
 
"The issue of raw water comes under the purview of the federal government. I think it is only fair if Kedah is compensated if (the federal government) protects the Ulu Muda area from development."
 
Chow also expressed his displeasure with Sanusi's recent remarks criticising his political opponents, saying his words bordered on being derogatory and racist, and called on Sanusi not to hide behind metaphors and proverbs.
 
Sanusi had recently likened his critics, mainly DAP and MIC members, including DAP veteran adviser Lim Kit Siang, as "apes playing with lights" who rampage through a house without realising that they cannot touch the lights. – The Vibes, December 10, 2020