It appears that members of Parliament have won the day for the water privatisation issue - their proposal for a parliamentary select committee to be formed over the issue will be re-submitted to the cabinet after having been thrown out a month ago.

Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik told a briefing for MPs in Parliament House today that as a result of this, the intention to table the National Water Service Commission Bill and the National Water Services Bill at the current parliamentary session could not be realised now.

"As the MPs have insisted to have a select committee, we will re-submit that proposal to the cabinet," he said.

"I promise to bring this proposal again to the cabinet but I hope you can understand that the water industry needs to be reformed and regulated as soon as possible," the minister added.

Yesterday, while winding up the debate on the Royal address, Nazri told the Dewan Rakyat that the plan to form a select committee was dropped because the King wanted the water privatisation programme to be in place by the end of the year.

The cabinet had decided on March 16 that the committee would not be set up in order to achieve the goal of privatising the management of water supply on schedule.

The constitution had been earlier amended during a special parliamentary sitting on Jan18 and 19 to enable the transfer of jurisdiction of water management to the federal government.

Feedback, consultation

MPs from both the government and opposition expressed their concern at the current sitting that privatising the water industry in hurry would only benefit the water companies while consumers may be left high and dry.

Lim had said last month that he had brought the issue to the cabinet and had decided that due to the urgency to form the National Water Services Commission (Span), the select committee would not be set up.

He said without the select committee, the regulatory body could be set up one and half years earlier.

"Now, I think maybe we have to wait until the end of 2006 to see the regulatory body set up," he added.

On Monday, Backbenchers Club head Shahrir Abdul Samad (BN-Johor Baru) suggested that the select committee be re-proposed to the cabinet to allow public feedback and consultation regarding the water privatisation issue.

He said the MPs would not accept time constraint as an excuse as the matter involved public interest.