I urge the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government to immediately end water rationing and explain the allegations on the illegal selling of water.

In a roundtable meeting in July 2011, Syabas chief operating officer Lee Miang Koi had said that due to the drastic increase of population in the Klang Valley and Putrajaya, Selangor would face a water crisis if there was no comprehensive planning.

Syabas and the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) had also warned that the water shortage would lead to a water crisis similar to the one in 1998. The federal government had planned on transporting water from Pahang to Selangor and the construction of the Langat II water treatment plant, which would have been completed in 2014, to prevent the water crisis from happening.

But all these warnings and advices were ignored by the Pakatan state government, thus leading to the water crisis today.

The water rationing in Selangor since Feb 25 has lasted two months, and the water rationing zone is still expanding, the people have reached their limit of suffering. As such, when would the state government end the water rationing?

Early this year, the water level had decreased drastically due to draught; the people had accepted that water rationing would only be a temporary measure.

Despite the rainy season now which sees rain happening almost daily, and with some areas even suffering from flash floods, it is ironic that Selangor is still undergoing water rationing.

What makes the people even more angry is the alleged illegal sale of water at the price of RM1,800 for a 26 tonne lorry.

The state government must give an acceptable explanation on this, as well as end the water rationing immediately, so that the people can return to their normal lives, and manufacturing plants can resume their operations.

ONG CHONG SWEN is Selangor Wanita MCA chairperson and Wanita MCA vice-chairperson.