Time and again we have been reminded that Malaysia is a country blessed with an abundance of water resources. In fact, we are so used to having water that we sometimes forget that people around the world are struggling just to quench their thirst with a cup of clean water.

Just recently, researchers from the Netherlands suggested that four billion people around the world face water scarcity. This is quite a big difference from the previous assumption, which states that 2 billion people did not have enough water. The argument is simple, previous assumptions did not account for temporary water scarcity, for example people who did not have enough water for several weeks.

This argument makes perfect sense, because lack of clean water for even a week can negatively affect anyone’s health. Not only do we need clean water to drink, we also need it for hygiene and sanitation. It is already proven that areas that lack clean water will face problems with diseases.

This problem is also recognised by the World Economic Forum, which puts water crisis as one of the top risk faced by our planet. It is ranked high in likeliness to happen and also impact towards society.

Let it be known that not all countries are as lucky as Malaysia to have access to clean water almost every day. The report on Palestinian’s access to water 2015 tells us that Palestinians only use an average of 40 l/c/d (litres per capita per day), Malaysians on the other hand use 232 l/c/d, while Penang, the state with the highest water usage uses nearly 300 l/c/d.

For reference purposes, the World Health Organisation recommends 150 l/c/d under normal conditions, and 100 l/c/d is set as the minimum for drinking and hygiene purpose. Do you see the difference in water usage in Malaysia and countries that lack access to clean water? We use five to seven times more water than them, and we still face water shortages!

We need to recognise that Malaysia has its own wet and dry season. If we stick to our wasteful habits even in the dry season, we would then face water supply problems. This year’s El Nino has cause many water disruptions around Malaysia. Warnings have been given since 2015 but the people’s water usage habits remained the same, therefore the problem could not be avoided.

Four billion people around the world face water scarcity problems, which is more than half of the world. Water scarcity problems are becoming more and more serious due to pollution and climate change, so we can no longer afford to stick to our current wasteful habits. Habits may be hard to change immediately, but you can always start with the smallest efforts such as turning off the tap while you brush your teeth or apply soap.

NAH KOK WAI is research and policy executive, Forum Air Malaysia.