No plan to privatise water: minister

comments     Beh Lih Yi     Published     Updated

Two controversial water bills to be passed by the Dewan Rakyat are 'not meant to encourage the privatisation' of water services, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Dr Lim Keng Yaik said today.

"The main purpose of the bill is to introduce a regulatory and monitoring body for the water services and sewerage industries which now fall under the concurrent list in the Federal Constitution," he told the House this afternoon.

Lim made the statement when winding-up debates on the Water Services Industry (WSI) Bill at its second stage reading today. Another bill, the National Water Services Commission (Span) Bill, will also be tabled for a second reading during the current sitting.

Lim's statement comes in the wake of his promise to concerned groups during previous consultations that he will make a policy statement in the House assuring that there would be no move to privatise the water services industry.

The government pushed through constitutional amendments last year which effectively put water under shared federal and state jurisdiction. The bills, however, were then put on hold to enable the ministry to gather feedback from the public, who feared they would pave the way for privatisation of water services.

Tariff hike possible

On the question that the minister is being given too much power under the bills, Lim said his power as a minister under the bill was not absolute and in many cases could only be enforced upon recommendation from Span or the cabinet.

"In discharging the duty of the minister, he is responsible to the cabinet and Parliament. The minister cannot simply invoke his power. This is stipulated in the administration system of Malaysia, where we practise collective responsibility," he said.

A number of parliamentarians have voiced their concern over the minister's wide powers under the bills in their debates yesterday. These controls include ordering Span to take over water operations from licence holders based on 'national interest' and approving the transfer of water businesses by licence holders.

On water tariffs, Lim said there would not be any assurance that tariffs would not be hiked. He said Span would oversee the tariff structure based on the key performance indicators to ensure it would not cause a burden to consumers.

The minister also reiterated that the passage of the bills would not pose a threat to the nation's sovereignty as Malaysia has not offered for its water services to be opened up for liberalisation under the World Trade Organisation's general agreement on trade and services (Gatt) of which Malaysia is a signatory.

The debates on the bill continues tomorrow.



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