I am shocked by the proposed river privatisation, which will pave the way for 30-year concessions to private companies to undertake management and development of rivers in Selangor.

Malaysia is a country with an abundance of water resources. We receive 3,000 mm of rainfall every year but recently we are experiencing repeating trends of water crises since 1997. It is a known fact that the water supply for Malaysian consumers are mainly from the rivers and the three rivers proposed for privatisation are in the most populated areas of the state.

I feel that privatisation of socially sensitive areas such as rivers and water resources will be a threat to Malaysian consumers. Why can't we learn from the examples worldwide where the private ownership of rivers have become a threat to the local communities? The privatisation of the Sheonath river in Chhattisgarh, India, for instance, became a threat to the local community and their water supply.

And in Kala Dera, Rajasthan, the local community has been campaigning to shut down the Coca-Cola facility there, India's largest. The main concern of the community is that the Coca- Cola plant is causing severe water shortages to the community. Without even privatising, such abuse is experienced and I wonder what would happen if private companies be given legal concessions of 30 years.

On the other hand, the Rasi Salai Declaration in Thailand 2003 has strongly oppose privatisation that subordinates life-giving water and rivers to corporate interests and the logic of the market.

The government should rethink the exact intention of private companies coming forward to manage rivers which will be a liability for their businesses at this point of time. What are their proposed projects to generate income from the rivers and how will it threaten the livelihood of the communities and consumers? These are critical information which should be given to the community before the signing of any privatisation concession.

It is impressive that Malaysia was recently placed in the list of top 10 countries with progressive environmental standards on par with many developed countries in the world. This conclusion was derived by gauging 16 environmental indicators grouped into six policy categories. Among the six, Malaysia was strongest in water resources. To maintain this position for the coming years, actions such as river privatisation should be curbed.

Further, one of the challenges of the 9th Malaysia Plan as listed by the Economic Planning Unit is 'to optimise the use of natural resources as well as protect the environment'. The 9MP is expected to place emphasis on Integrated Water Resource Management. Therefore, privatisation of rivers will not be a good move.

Access to water is a basic human right and therefore it is not viable to leave it in the hands of private companies. The government bear the responsibility of managing our rivers, with the support of both private companies - as part of their social responsibility - and the local community and NGOs. This would ensure that control of water resources be retained by the government for the benefit of all.

Passing over this responsibility to the private sector is not viable. And inaction is not a good option. With the recent Water Service Industry Bill and the Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara Bill, everyone should have stake in water management including local community - not only private companies.

The writer is environment manager, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca).