Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik will attend a parliamentary roundtable discussion on water privatisation next week if his schedule permits, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said.

The DAP MP for Ipoh Timor said the minister agreed to attend the parliamentary dialogue on water services on Friday if it did not clash with his engagements.

Kit Siang said he had extended an invitation to Keng Yaik when they met at the Trooping of the Colours by the Malaysian Armed Forces in conjunction with the official birthday celebration of the Yang di Pertuan Agong at Dataran Merdeka earlier today.

"Keng Yaik said he would attend the parliamentary roundtable if his calendar is free. I asked him to send a representative such as (his deputy) if he was unable to make it," he said in a statement.

The roundtable will be held on June 10 at 10am at the Committee Room 2 of Parliament House and is open to all stakeholders in the water services industry.

On April 20, he said, the ministry had promised to provide the two water bills, the Water Services Industry Bill and the National Water Services Commission Bill, to members of Parliament within three weeks for study and consultation.

"Six weeks have actually passed," noted Kit Siang, adding that Keng Yaik's response was after he was reminded of the promise.

"We still haven't got the bills yet. When I asked, he told me that he had just got the bills back from the Attorney-General's Chambers early this week.

"Although we don't need the bills for this Friday's roundtable, we will try to get it later," he said when contacted later today.

Third roundtable

He said the proposed parliamentary roundtable, the third organised by the Opposition Leader's Office, was conceived following the promise to make available the two water bills to all MPs.

"As six weeks have now passed, and with the increased pace of unchecked water privatisation in the various states, a parliamentary roundtable dialogue on the present state-of-the-play on water federalisation and privatisation is urgently warranted," he said.

In late April, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) pledged to lead a national campaign against the privatisation of two essential sectors - healthcare and water services.

The privatisation of water services has sparked off protests based on arguments that the subsequent cost hike would naturally be passed on to consumers.

Special interest groups strongly believe that essential services should be spared from being turned into profit-oriented ventures.

Consultants from the federal and state governments, water companies, the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, Fomca and the MTUC are expected to attend the dialogue.