Aliran today criticised Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) over its plan to initiate legal action against the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and Coalition Against Water Privatisation (CAWP).

In a statement, the non-governmental organisation said it viewed this as an attempt to 'muzzle and intimidate' civil society.

CAWP's 'no water privatisation' position, it added, has been endorsed by 126 groups - one of the largest number of endorsements for a specific issue in recent times.

These groups, it said, were 'extremely concerned' about the direction of water supply management in this country.

"Does Syabas plan to take legal action against all groups concerned about the way things are going?"

Water is a public resource and should never be privatised for private profit. "The right to water is a basic human right," said Aliran.

Open the books

The organisation urged Syabas to open its books for an independent audit of its performance to see how well it has complied with the terms of the concession.

"In particular, we want a thorough audit into the claims that the company has managed to reduce the amount of water lost through leakages (the reduction of non-revenue water).

"Only in this way can we know if a water tariff hike is indeed warranted. We will not be satisfied with figures obtained from 'industry sources' or unaudited figures," it added.

The best way for Syabas to silence its critics, according to Aliran, is for the company to open its books for inspection.

"It should engage its critics in debate rather than try to intimidate them through legal action. If everything is above board, then Syabas has nothing to fear," it said.

Apart from this, Aliran also called on the government to make public the concession agreement with Syabas.

"Since public money is involved, the rakyat have a right to know what of agreement has been concluded. Otherwise all the rhetoric about transparency will ring hollow," it said.