 SHAH ALAM, April 11 — The Selangor government will decide in a fortnight if water rationing in the Klang Valley should be extended beyond this month, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today. The Selangor mentri besar was asked about the possibility of the water rationing, which started last month, being prolonged to August to prepare for the dry season. “We’ll be making a decision in the next two weeks,” Khalid told reporters at the sidelines of the Selangor legislative assembly here today. “The exco will be meeting next week on how we’ll resolve the water issue and water rationing,” he added. The fourth phase of water rationing in the Klang Valley is expected to end on April 30 since the exercise started early last month. DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago said yesterday that Malaysia must start harvesting rainwater and ramp up consumer education on prudent water consumption, pointing out that the water problem was here to stay. He also criticised Syabas — the main water supplier in the country’s most populous state as well as the neighbouring federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya — for resorting to water rationing instead of exploring other measures to conserve water. The federal lawmaker pointed out that stopping car washes would save up to eight times more water than rationing measures, or 3.5 million litres a day if one million cars a week are not washed. According to water information initiative International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities, Malaysia’s total water consumption in 2007, the latest year where information is available, was 351 litres per person per day, compared to Singapore’s 272 litres. On non revenue water ― which is water “lost” before it reaches the customer, either through leaks, theft or legal usage for which no payment is made ― Malaysia recorded 34 per cent in 2007, compared to Singapore’s four per cent. MMail
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