SHAH ALAM, June 13 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today the delay in concluding talks on restructuring the water services in Selangor was due to the unreasonable value set by the state government on its water assets.
Najib, who is also Umno president, spoke to reporters after chairing a meeting of the Selangor Umno Liaison Committee helmed by him, here.
The Selangor government had offered to sell its water assets to Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB), an agency wholly-owned by the Finance Ministry, for RM9.7 billion.
The state government, through its subsidiary Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd, had proposed a restructuring of the water services in Selangor by taking over the concessionaires - Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd, Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd, Syarikat Pengeluaran Air Selangor Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd and their assets.
However, the state government's offer to take over the rights of the concessionaires and their assets for between RM5.5 billion and RM6 billion had been reportedly rejected by the concessionaires.
Najib said no force was put on the state government to migrate to the new water management regime or system in the country.
Under the country's restructuring of the water services, PAAB would take over the assets and asset-related liabilities from the existing water companies and the operations would be supervised by the National Water Services Commission (Span).
Najib said: "The Selangor government can remain in the existing regime but it will have to bear the implications of that decision."
He said the federal government had given notice to the state government to resolve the issue.
"We have stated that if anything happens, it is not the fault of the federal government. We have given sufficient notice to the state government," he said.
Najib said that at the Umno meeting he had asked for the water issue to be explained to all Umno leaders so that they could brief the people on the matter.
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