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December 11, 2003
By: Tyler Baggs
Website: http://www.water-purification-filters.com
Public forum - Water issue in the state of Selangor
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA),
Education and Research Associations for Consumers Malaysia
(ERA Consumer Malaysia), Consumer Association of Selangor & Federal
Territory (PPSWP) and Consumer Association
of Klang (PPK) organized a public forum
on the water issue in Selangor at the
Armada Hotel, Petaling Jaya.
This forum was meant to
allow its participants to discuss and convey
their views towards this basic service
which has recently been given a negative
label by the public. The participants,
comprised of NGOs, government departments,
private sector and academics have voiced
out their dissatisfactions against four
major issues namely the tariff and quality
of water, the quality of service provided
by JBAS and the increase in the infrastructure
cost due to Non Revenue Water (NRW).
The 115 participants
of this forum represented 22 Non Government
Organizations(NGOs) where
Consumer Associations (FOMCA,
ERA Consumer, PPSWP, PPK, PCA, JCA,
3P MTUC), Residential Associations
(Bangsar'Baru, Seputeh, Taman Dato'
Harun, Subang Jaya, Villa OUG, Pemastautin
TTDI), the "Rukun Tetangga" Sectors
(Tmn. Tun Dr. Ismail, Tmn. SEA, Section
1&2 P. Jaya), Law Society of Women
in Selangor and Federal Territory,
Persatuan Peniaga Kecil India, Peoples
Service Organization (PSO),
Pesticide Network Asia & The Pacific,
Malaysian Plant Protection Society,
Young Womens Christian Association (YWCA) and
Malaysian Association of Hotels were
among the participants.
Eight Private Sector
and Professional Bodies such as the
Latin Exports Management, The Institution
of Engineers Malaysia, Wetlands International,
Optical Media Sdn. Bhd.,Institutions
of Higher Education such as Multimedia
University (MMU),
Kolej Teknologi KRAM, Institute Keselamatan
Pekerja (NIOSH) and
Tenaga Nasional Bhd were also present.
Besides that, government
bodies like the Ministry of Housing, Ministry
of Works, and Water Departments form Gombak,
Kuala Lumpur, Klang, Ulu Langat and others
were among the participants as well.
Jerald Gornez from the
Bar Council Malaysia was the chairperson
of this forum. The panel members were Marimuthu
Nadason, the Deputy President of FOMCA
and President of ERA Consumer, V. Subramaniam,
Deputy President of JBAS and Dr. Akhbar
Johari who represented the Malaysian Water
Association. This forum succeeded in obtaining
strong views and reactions from its participants.
The explanation of the
problem of shortage of allocation and number
of workers brought forth by JBAS drew negative
views of the participants towards JBAS.
The participants also questioned the quality
of the water supply that reaches the houses
of consumers. The water was unclean and
contained rusts from the old piping system.
The participants complained that they were forced to buy
water filters and this has greatly increased their expenditures
as the water filters in the market are expensive. A representative
from the Law Society of Women raised the issue that residents
were not duly notified by JBAS when the water supply was
interrupted due to repair works and that due notice should
be given during primetime news as many households are working
and no one is at home to store water.
JBAS' move in employing Enforcement Officers to punish errant
consumers who failed to pay their bills were also criticized,
whereby those present strongly felt that the Officers should
have been employed for a better purpose such as to solve
the water supply and quality issues in Selangor.
The participants also questioned the effectiveness of the
complaint customer service provided by JBAS as the complaints
are handled rudely, very slowly and if through the telephone,
many a time, the phone is not answered.
A representative from
the residents of Condominiums and Apartments
brought up an issue where the high water
tariff charged by the Condominiums and
Apartments management due to piping costs
has proven to be a burden to condominium
and apartment residents.
FOMCA has
voiced its concern that Malaysia will be
facing a water crisis in the year 2006
and stressed that it definitely would not
want the water crisis that occurred in
1998 to repeat again. FOMCA demanded
that LUAS (Lembaga Urus Air Selangor) and
PUAS (Perbadanan Urus Air Selangor) play
their roles more proactively and effectively.
In conclusion, this forum
succeeded in achieving its goal as a platform
to voice out the importance of consumer
power in water issues as well as able to
give consumers explanations on the major
hurdles faced by JBAS. The participants,
however still have doubts about the explanations
given by JBAS, that the water supplied
is safe and complies to the safety rules
set by WHO. Participants were still of
the view that the water supplied to their
homes is unclean and unsafe for drinking
and this forces them to still purchase
water filters.
The statement that stated that the quality of water in Malaysia
complies to the standard set by WHO, is only at the water
treatment centre and not when the water reaches the houses
of consumers. Concerning the issue of privatization of JBAS,
many consumers were dissatisfied with this proposal. What
guarantee is there that with privatization comes better customer
service, billing system and better water quality? Participants
referred to the failed projects of IWK, MAS, LRT-STAR etc.
Additional News, see living water.
Author Notes:
Tyler Baggs contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.water-purification-filters.com.
Get educated on the benefits of water purification systems and water filters available.
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