Is Selangor Going To Face A Repeat Of The 2014 Water Crisis In 2 Months?
Klang MP Charles Santiago said that water levels in Sungai Selangor and Sungai Semenyih dams have dropped tremendously in just 43 days.
By Tang Ruxyn — 21 Apr 2016, 11:18 AM
Klang MP Charles Santiago, alerted that it's highly possible for Selangor to face a water crisis within the next six weeks, if the state government does not act swiftly
According to the Klang MP, the water in Sungai Selangor and Sungai Semenyih dams are quickly diminishing as the water levels stand at 66.73 per cent and 70.65 per cent respectively, compared to the capacity of 95.47 per cent and 93.19 per cent last month.
More than five million people in the Klang Valley area rely on the Sungai Selangor and Semenyih dams for water supply.
He has urged the Selangor state government to set up a special committee to combat the water crisis and oversee the water conservation plans in the state
Santiago said the committee should be headed by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, together with state and local councillors.
He said the government should not adopt the 'wait and see' approach when faced with a potential crisis.
"To avert the crisis, the state could consider controlling car wash operators to reduce usage of water, encourage consumers to use water saving equipment and ramp up the 'Save Water' campaign.
"We cannot have a repeat of 2014 when pregnant women were coming down 15 floors of stairs to collect water for cooking," Santiago added.
Selangor and Negeri Sembilan underwent a water crisis in 2014 that lasted for six months from February until August in that year.
It was one of the worst water crisis in Malaysian history that affected millions of residents.
However, Bukit Lanjan MP Elizabeth Wong has rubbished the Klang MP's claim, saying that Selangor is well prepared to handle the prolonged dry spell
“Today, the Klang MP made all kinds of wild allegations, inaccurate calculations and the news has now gone viral,” she wrote in the message sighted by Malay Mail Online late last night, 20 April.
“Suddenly, the Selangor state government was being badly attacked, even though the focus should be given to the states that are really facing huge problems like Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Penang and Johor,” she was quoted as saying by Malay Mail Online.
Wong, who is also the Selangor Tourism, Environment, Green Technology and Consumer Affairs committee chairman, reportedly said that such allegations by Santiago is "very bad for Selangor’s name".