Xavier queries Noh's involvement in water panel

Selangor state exco member Dr Xavier Jayakumar has questioned Agriculture Minister Noh Omar’s involvement in the cabinet committee to investigate the Selangor water crisis, citing conflict of interest.

In a press statement today, Jayakumar (left) said Noh is a federal government minister lobbying for the creation of the Langat 2 water treatment plant.

Apart from Noh, the committee comprises Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala and Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin. The cabinet committee would be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Its purpose, Bernama reported, is to investigate Selangor’s looming water crisis by studying all issues, including the request by the Selangor state government to take over Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas), and Syabas’s proposal to implement water rationing in the state.

Jayakumar, however, argued that if the government insisted on creating a special cabinet committee, the 5.7 million water consumers of Selangor would have to be represented by Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, if their interests were to be protected.

He also questioned why the panel was formed in the first place, since Chin has powers on the matter as accorded in the Water Services Industry Act 2006.