DAP’s Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong has urged the Johor state government to waive the water tariff for Kluang residents for a month due to the worsening water crisis that has resulted in Kluang being subjected to water rationing for the whole of March.

“The water shortage in Kluang exposes the underlying problems of poor governance and delivery failure of multiple government agencies,” Liew, who is also the Johor DAP chairperson, said in a statement today.

Liew pointed out that a review on the national water resources published in 2011 indicated that the government was well aware of an impending water crisis in Kluang as early as the year 2000 but had done little to address the problem.

“The report proposed to implement the Kahang Dam project immediately (at that time) in order to alleviate water resources shortage problem. It had been projected that the Kahang Dam would be required in early 2014. Today, the Kahang Dam has yet to be completed,” Liew said.

He said that the state government owes the people an explanation for “its repeated failure” to take swift action in solving the water crisis before it reached critical levels.

“I therefore urge the state government to decide at its exco meeting on Wednesday to waive the water tariff for Kluang for a month as a sign of accepting responsibility as well as a commitment to prevent a future crisis,” he said.