KOTA KINABALU – No parties have been given authorisation to sell treated water to the public, said Sabah deputy chief minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya in response to concerns about profiteering by private companies during water supply disruptions in various districts in the state.
Shahelmey, who is also Sabah works minister, told The Vibes no such licences have been issued but also asked for more time to study the allegations.
“Let me get the report from the state Water Department. Let me have it in order first, then we’ll (share some) news,” he told The Vibes.
Shahelmey was responding to The Vibes’ report on Sabah assemblymen raising concerns over exorbitant prices charged by private water suppliers to consumers during water cuts.
The assemblymen, including Warisan vice-president Datuk Junz Wong, questioned if private companies were in cahoots with the Sabah Water Department to sell treated water at high above the normal tariff when taps ran dry.
They said there have been such instances in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan, where private companies sell water by tankers to hospitals and residential areas.
Wong cited a letter by the Likas Women and Children’s Hospital, which said it was charged RM145,490.50 for 23 days of water supply by a private water supply transporter.
Other instances were cited by the assemblymen, including a condominium being charged between RM1.14 and RM11.40 per cubic metre, exceeding the permissible rates set by the state Water Supply Regulation 1961 of between 90 sen and RM1.30 for every cubic metre.
Sandakan’s Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong had also told of a water supplier charging around RM900 per tanker (around 3,000l) to residential areas in his constituency, while Tawau’s Sri Tanjong assemblyman Justin Wong said the price was RM600 per tanker in his constituency.
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.
Under the Sabah Water Supply Enactment 2003, the state water authority has the power to issue licences to any party in the work of water supply as stated under Part III Section 16 of the law, but it also has the responsibility to ensure efficiency and quality in the supply of water as stated under Section 7(1)(c).
Warisan information chief Datuk Azis Jamman expressed concern that the higher cost of purchasing water would burden consumers, who would now have to pay both private suppliers and their regular water bills.
He suggested that this situation might contribute to the rising cost of food in Sabah, as water is required to run businesses and eateries.
Azis also noted that the current situation is in contrast to the past when people affected by water cuts could receive supply for free from the state Water Department.
“The state government has an emergency fund allocated to the Water Department to send water tankers to deliver water from house to house and village to village,” he said.
However, water supply transported this way to affected areas is only a short-term solution, he noted. – The Vibes, July 20, 2023
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