Johor is not among the six states that have agreed to increase water tariff rates, said state international trade, investment and utilities committee chairperson Jimmy Puah Wee Tse.

He said the last time the state government raised the water tariffs was in 2016 and it was among the highest in the country.

"For now the Johor government has taken a stand, not to raise water tariffs, which means we are not one of the six states.

“You have to understand that our water tariff is one of the highest, so for now we do not see any need to increase it (water tariff)," he told reporters after opening the International Chamber Networking Big Wheel Seedbank at Sunway Iskandar here today.

Puah said he believed the move to increase water tariffs was more to standardise water rates in the country.

"For example in Penang, the rate is still very low at 33 cents per cubic metre, as compared to RM1.31 in Johor . That means, if we were to raise the rate further we will never be able to bridge the gap,” he said.

Yesterday, Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said six states had agreed to increase water rates, in line with the government's efforts to restructure the water supply services industry in the country.

He said the agreement was reached through negotiations with each state government and the National Water Services Com­mission.

However he did not mention the states.

- Bernama