Water disruption: Wangsa Maju MP, 750 consumers to file suit next week
Wangsa Maju MP Tan Yee Kew will lead 750 consumers in suing the PKR-led Selangor state government, the federal government and others over the constant water disruption due to pollution in major rivers in the Klang Valley.
The PKR lawmaker, who initiated the legal action against the water authorities and polluters back in October 2020, said the class action will be filed by next week...
Wangsa Maju MP Tan Yee Kew will lead 750 consumers in suing the PKR-led Selangor state government, the federal government and others over the constant water disruption due to pollution in major rivers in the Klang Valley.
The PKR lawmaker, who initiated the legal action against the water authorities and polluters back in October 2020, said the class action will be filed by next week.
The other parties to be named as defendants are the National Water Services Commission (Span), Selangor Water Management Board (Luas) and Environment Department, she added.
Tan told Malaysiakini that she has also decided to sue a private company, Pakar Scieno TW Sdn Bhd, for allegedly failing to alert the relevant authorities on the river pollution in Selangor, which led to the water disruption.
In 2017, the government awarded the Environmental Quality Monitoring Programme (EQMP) contract for Pakar Scieno to provide a real-time data collection for air, river and marine quality levels as well as a command centre for analysis. The company was to operate the programme between July 2017 and January 2032 at the cost of RM846 million.
"Our lawyers have completed the draft of the legal documents. We obtained some new input stating we should also sue the federal government. We are getting more details on Pakar Scieno.
"It was awarded a contract to monitor the pollution and to give an early warning. But obviously, they have failed to do so. We want to sue the company.
"We want to seek justice and we want our government agencies and departments to be more accountable. They cannot pass the buck to others and say 'this has nothing to do with me'.
"We will ask the court to determine who should bear the responsibility along the chain of responsibility, who has actually neglected their duties," Tan said.
She hoped that the government contracts involving water concession and environment which benefit the concessionaires will be revealed during the court proceeding.
Tan said her suit against the state government would not put her in an awkward position as her party subscribes to the principle of good governance and there shouldn't be any cover-up when wrongdoings are committed.
"When there is hanky-panky in the government agency, why should we help them to cover up? This is not our principle of Reformasi.
"If politicians do something wrong, they must be punished. If the politicians, exco member, menteri besar and ministers neglect their duties, shouldn't they be demoted? They should resign," she added.
Tan disagreed that only the factories which caused the pollution should be held responsible for the water disruption.
In October 2020, areas in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur experienced unscheduled water cuts four times within the span of a month. Before that, there were 18 instances of water disruption between March and August, 2020.
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