PAS central committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad has urged the Federal and Selangor governments to reveal the terms of the water memorandum to conclude whether it was the best achievable resolution.

Describing the  signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Selangor Menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and the federal government led by Energy, Water and Green Technology Minister Maximus Ongkili, as a shock, he said that what is needed is transparency in the matter.

“I was made to know the negotiations failed initially on Monday. However, on Tuesday, the officers were required to attend the signing of the MOU,” he said.

“I then urged that the Selangor and Federal government reveal the details of the deal to the Selangor exco and Pakatan Rakyat leaders in the interests of transparency,” he said.

Dzulkefly, a former Kuala Selangor MP said the settlement of the water deal has been a  long awaited one.

However, he said the hurried manner in which it was concluded raises questions.

Earlier, PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim ( right) who is also Selangor economic advisor had claimed  to be in the dark over the deal.

It was reported on Tuesday that with the MOU, Selangor has agreed to the takeover of all four water companies, which will receive compensation of RM9.65 billion while Putrajaya will inject RM2 billion into the deal to help the state acquire the shares of the companies.

In return, Selangor will allow the federal government to proceed with the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant.

The plant must be approved by Selangor within 30 days of the tender being awarded and will be supplied with raw water from Pahang under the two state-to-state agreements signed in 2001 and 2007.

This is expected to solve water shortages in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya.

Why MOU, not takeover?

Dzulkefly also asked why the deal is only in the form of an MOU and an not outright takeover.

“This is an important issue as an MOU is not binding and may mean that it may not become a deal after the Kajang by-election. An MOU is not binding and memorandum of agreement (MOA) is.

“Why doesn’t the Federal government takeover and hand it over to the state government.

This would be better and hence would not result in the RM2 billion injection to the state government,” he said, stressing again the need for  transparency in the deal including the construction of the Langat 2 plant.

It is important, he said, that the people know why Langat 2 has suddenly become viable when it was rejected initially.

He also asked what price the state will pay for the treated water supply from the plant.

“Will this result in a rise in water tariff which will have to be borne by consumers?” he asked, adding that while the people may support this resolution, they also want to know that if this is the best deal for them.