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TEST OF OPPOSITION COMPETENCE

The perceived performance of the four opposition-controlled states will be a crucial campaign issue as the three-party opposition alliance tries to convince voters it is capable of running the country.

Penang, another opposition-held state, has set an enviable record, attracting the country’s highest level of investment in the manufacturing sector for two years running and slashing public debt levels by over 90 percent in three years.

Selangor’s record is less spectacular. The state government has been dogged by talk of infighting and Malaysia’s ruling coalition is presenting the water issue as exhibit A to show the state is being mismanaged.

“They want to influence the course of the elections. They have a monopoly over water resources and are holding the people to ransom,” said opposition MP Tony Pua, adding that uncertainty over water supply was endangering investment in the state.

Syabas’ shock warning of water rationing this month prompted in dignant state officials to pose for pictures in front of dams brimming with water to show there was no shortage. Syabas hit back with images showing treatment plants at low reserve capacity, bolstering its case for the new plant.

“The responsibility for ensuring that Selangor has enough water treatment plants lies with the Selangor state government,” it said in a statement released on Thursday.

Selangor has threatened to take over the water company’s operations, a bid that was rejected by the government. The state government remains set on a takeover and is going ahead with plans to sack Rozali, aiming to use its 30 percent stake in Syabas to trigger a vote of no-confidence.

The federal government wants to open tenders for the new plant in a month, but it needs Selangor’s permission to proceed.

The state government says the plant would lead to a steep rise in water tariffs and that projections for water consumption and population growth used to justify its construction are too high. Instead, it wants 225 million ringgit from the federal government to upgrade two existing plants and is prepared to add 200-300 million ringgit of its own funds.

Selangor state sources say the level of non-revenue water — the volume lost before it reaches the customer — at Syabas is above 33 percent. That measure of efficiency compares with Singapore’s 5 percent, Denmark’s 6 percent, and even falls short of Bangladesh’s 29 percent, they say.

Campaigners against Syabas are urging the company to open its books to show if there really is a shortage.

“Failing to do so would only prove that the water crisis is manufactured,” said Charles Santiago, an opposition member of parliament and coordinator of the Coalition against Water Privatisation group.