Dear Pengurus Besar Encik Amran,

Since your courteous reply dated Nov 29, 2002 to my letter posted in Oct 2002, not much has been done about some of the main complaints, e.g. the rapidly eroding gravel roads linking the various parts of the village which you said you had referred to the Orang Asli Affairs' Department (JHEOA) for action.

In the 12 years I have lived among the orang asli, I have yet to note a single constructive action undertaken by the JHEOA - apart from promoting the work of Islamic missionary groups like Jakim, if you can describe that as constructive.

You will get no results from your request unless you breathe down their necks like a dragon. By the way, I hear the JHEOA is now trying to persuade the residents of Kampung Pertak to accept an oil palm scheme on the hill slopes near the village - which would undoubtedly result in a charming array of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and other toxic substances running off straight into the Selangor Dam reservoir.

If the JHEOA gets their way, they will effectively destroy the eco-tourism potential of the area - and poison a large section of the Klang Valley by contaminating the Selangor Dam reservoir.

This email however, is prompted by another, much more pressing problem: the frequent breakdown in water supply to the village.

It is ironic that the orang asli, who have lived along rivers for thousands of years, now have to pay for piped water - even though some hardly use the metered water, preferring to wash their clothes and bath in the river.

But never mind that, the service has been rather erratic since it began, with breakdowns occurring on the average of two or three per month. And each time the water supply is interrupted, it often takes four to five days for the service to resume.

I have questioned Perbadanan Urus Air Selangor (Puas) officials about this unsatisfactory performance and finally understand what the problem is. According to Puas, Kampung Pertak's water supply is independently maintained by a fellow named Ali, who presumably works for Gamuda.

During dry weather, there is usually no problem. But after a heavy downpour, the pump invariably breaks down, perhaps because of debris clogging the intake. One would think that Ali would have the good sense to inspect the pump after each heavy storm to make sure everything is running smoothly. But this is obviously not being done.

The problem is further compounded by the fact that Ali is only contactable via his mobile which has no signal when he's up at the dam site office.

For example, two nights ago the water supply was interrupted again around dinner time, after a heavy shower. The next morning I telephoned the Puas office in Kuala Kubu Baru to inform them of the breakdown, and was told to contact Ali, whose wife picked up my call. She promised to relay the message to him, so I left it at that.

By twilight, there was still no water, so I called Ali again - only to be informed by his wife that she had not seen him the whole day. Which means, 12 hours after it happened, he still did not know about the pump breakdown!

I called the Gamuda site office and was informed that Ali had just left for home. I doubt he will do anything about the problem until the following day. So we have to endure another day or two without water - and there is no guarantee he will get the water flowing immediately, as the pump may need spare parts or major repairs (and I doubt there is a back-up).

As Gamuda is part of the consortium Splash - and your job is to supply water to the Klang Valley - it does your corporate image little good for the public to know you have difficulty supplying water to a village of only 43 houses.

Since March 2002, when the keys were handed over to the residents of Kampung Pertak, I estimate that the water supply has been interrupted at least 20 times. Last year we went almost a whole week without piped water!

In a typical Orang Asli household with 6-10 kids, not having any running water very quickly becomes a health hazard. To add insult to injury, they have to pay a minimum of RM5 monthly to Puas, even if not a single drop of water is used.

Clearly, there are serious kinks in the water supply system at Kampung Pertak to be identified and rectified. I trust you will act on this report to ensure that the problem is effectively resolved. For a start, you could instruct Ali to be more diligent in checking the pump after each major downpour.