Water, water everywhere yes, but there is slippage and leakage from Kelantan to Melaka and of course in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The problem is corruption all over the place.

If our memory does not fail us, the first publicised case of a major water woe was in Melaka and Rahim Thamby Chik, as the chief minister then, tried to solve the problem by using a so-called 'Z technology' through a profit-sharing formula with an unknown foreign party.

There must have been a lot of negotiations for a person like Rahim to risk his credibility. Later, when the project became the subject of public scoffing he became most defensive for reasons best known only to him.

Then came the Kelantan water project, Air Kelantan . Firstly, what really came out of the taps was a lot of hot air, not water. The air pressure build-up in the water pipes (as a result of seriously inadequate water supply) caused water meters to register an exaggerated level of water usage.

There was an avalanche of complaints. They tried to fix it but nothing happened. Until today what you get is very heavily-coloured iron oxide water that has been quietly certified as not fit for human consumption. It stains everything that you wash, not only white shirts.

Kelantan is the only state in the world where a public utility company supplies filthy water to consumers with the endorsement of the government. No wonder the people of Kelantan are known to be suffering from all sorts of rare diseases. I understand that this has attracted the attention of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Then came the Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan water projects. In this case, the only genuine original party of the consortium (Splash) that has been given the contract to undertake the water project is Gamuda. The rest are cronies and proxies out to make a fast buck.

In most states up to 45 percent of non-tariff earning water has been left to waste. The authorities responsible for the maintenance of water pipes took literally months to have leaking or broken pipes repaired.

A few of these cases happened right in front of my house. This has been the subject of public complaints in the newspapers all the time, it is an evergreen problem.

We would like to see this being attended to immediately. There is no point in supplying more water if it is going to be allowed to flow into the drain or to be tapped for free by Indonesian immigrants (most Indonesian settlements in Kuala Lumpur suburbs use stolen water).

Nobody really bothers in Malaysia when it comes to protecting and making proper use of vital natural resources. If they ever do, it is because they want to make an easy fast buck. The new energy, water and communications minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik should keep an eye out for this.