Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday the cost of water services should be reasonable and linked to the amount used. Natural resources such as water are limited and if Malaysians want these services improved, they should at some point pay for it.
“But the selection of a set of pricing mechanisms is now somewhat difficult, especially when it is being unnecessarily politicised.”
Water, said Najib, could not be treated as though it was available in unlimited quantities and supplied at zero or low cost to consumers.
“We must not forget that when we turn on our tap, what comes out is not just water but a product which has a value.
“On the other hand, when we intend to attach cost to water, there is a public outcry because of the lack of understanding and collective agreement.”
Najib said subsidies for supplying such resources to homes and industries should be targeted at those who deserved it and not just given across the board.
“In the long run, for anything to be sustainable, subsidies should only be for the truly deserving.”
The prime minister said this in a speech read by Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, at the 2nd Asia Pacific Regional Water Conference and Exhibition 2011 yesterday.
Najib said the present situation on water management was challenging.
Firstly, there was not only a need to push for growth in an environment of depleting resources, but the government must somehow manage them in a sustainable manner, he said.
Secondly, at the government level, it must provide the right signal to balance the costs and implement suitable tariff rates without burdening the people.
“We also support the industry through many agencies, ministries and bodies.
“Therefore, it is important to have a good governance.”
If authorities did not manage water resources in a sustainable manner, Najib said the impact would be devastating.
“It is already quite evident in the way the global weather has been unpredictable and often violent, much of it as a result of climate change.”
This, said Najib, could be seen by an exceptionally high number of fatalities with a total of 950 natural catastrophes recorded last year, 90 per cent of which were weather related.
On the conference itself, he said he hoped the three-day event, attended by water experts from around the world, would be an ideal platform to exchange ideas and nurture new business models to face challenges in the globalised era.
