The Selangor government can and will “exercise its powers” to hinder the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant should the federal government not fulfil its part of the water deal.

The warning came from Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua ( right ), who said the state could withhold the approvals needed for the project to proceed if the federal government “fails to cajole” the water companies to sell their concessions back to the state at the agreed sum.

The four water concession companies are Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas), Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings Bhd and Kumpulan Abass.

The ball is now in the federal government's court to respond to the “goodwill” shown by the Selangor government in signing the deal last week, Pua said in a statement issued today.

“However, if the federal government fails to fulfil its part of the bargain in a timely manner, it can be assured that the Selangor government, via its executive council and the Selangor state assembly, will exercise all its powers enshrined under the laws of Selangor and the federal constitution to deny any further licences to be issued or awarded to the relevant federal government entities for the purposes of the Langat 2 project.

“Without these additional approvals, the Langat 2 project cannot proceed,” Pua said.

Pua added that the federal government must ensure that the water concessionaires in Selangor accepted the RM9.65 billion offer for the takeover.

'Putrajaya must keep its word'

"If the federal government fails to cajole these concessionaires into accepting the offer, then it must exercise all its powers under the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA), particularly using Clause 114 to compulsorily acquire these water companies based on the compensation model detailed in the concession agreements," he said.

Yesterday, PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli expressed concern over the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the water deal signed between the Selangor and federal governments.

Under the deal, the federal government will invoke its powers to allow Selangor to take over the state's water facilities from the private concessionaires.

In exchange, the state will give its nod to the federal government's Langat 2 water treatment project.

Rafizi claimed that according to the MOU, only the Langat 2 project was binding on the state government and there was no provision to ensure the federal government would hold up to its end of the bargain to facilitate the water infrastructure takeover.