The water agreement between the Selangor government and the federal government lapsed today and will not be extended, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali announced.

Talking to reporters at the Parliament lobby, Azmin said the federal government has "breached terms of the agreement", thus leaving the state with no choice.

"What choice do we have?" he asked.

The decision by Selangor will put a major dent in the federal government's ambitions to build the Langat 2 water treatment plant.

 

"When I came in September last year, I made it known that I wanted to honour the agreement, but they failed to honour it," Azmin ( right ) said.

 

The master agreement for the water deal was signed in September last year, as Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's last act as the state menteri besar.

 

Under the terms, the federal government was given three months to fulfil the pre-conditions set in the agreement, but these were not met.

 

Putrajaya then sought two consecutive one-month extensions, with the latest expiring today.

 

But Selangor has chosen to not grant a third extension.

 

"I will see what new terms they have to discuss with the state," Azmin said when asked about the path forward.

 

Under the water agreement, Selangor will facilitate the construction of the Langat 2 project, provided the federal government helps the state complete the takeover of all water concessionaires in the state.

 

"The ball is in their court," Azmin said.

 

He would also discuss the Selangor public transportation plan with Works Minister Fadillah Yusof, he said, following the state's cancellation of the approval for the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex).

At 10 tonight, Khalid ( left ) responded to Azmin's announcement, saying he was shocked by the unilateral statement from Azmin and that the details provided were too scant to make any comment.

He said in his Facebook posting the water restructuring exercise that began in earnest in 2008 was meant to benefit the rakyat.

Khalid added: "I personally feel that both the federal and state governments must eat the humble pie and agree on a feasible solution that will ultimately benefit the rakyat.

"Lopsided agreements in favour of concession companies have put the rakyat at the losing end for so long. This has to stop."