 SHAH ALAM, March 5 — The contents of Selangor’s water asset deal will be made public in a week’s time, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today. The state mentri besar said that he had discussed the matter with Energy, Green Technology and Water minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili and there was a consensus that contents of the deal would not affect national security. “The process should be a week at most,” he told reporters here today. According to MB Khalid, there was a delay in releasing the information due to several “processes” involved and because the deal concerned not just Selangor but also the federal government. State executive councillor Elizabeth Wong, who was also present at the news conference said the confidentiality of on going agreements was guaranteed by a clause in the Selangor Freedom of Information Act. Khalid also announced today Selangor’s plans to sign another agreement with Putrajaya, one which will contain ‘details’ on the newly-minted water asset deal. He said the agreement will be drafted by both the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water and state-owned Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Sdn Bhd (KDEB), and is expected to be signed by both parties as soon as possible. When asked whether the new agreement would also be made public once it is signed, Khalid said it had to go through the same “processes” as the MoU before it could be made available for all. The hastily signed MoU between Selangor and Putrajaya has added to the intrigue surrounding the March 23 Kajang by-election, itself already a complex affair that is believed to be designed to allow Anwar to replace Khalid as MB. A day after its signing last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin came out to trumpet that the deal was “irrevocable”. This prompted Anwar to claim that there is still wriggle room in Selangor’s water deal with Putrajaya, although he conceded that this claim was made without viewing the document. MoUs are often expressions of intent signed between two or more parties when they do not wish to yet enter a legally binding or formal agreement. On Monday, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli alleged that the hastily signed water deal between Selangor and Putrajaya was not only lopsided and possibly illegal, but will lead to an inevitable spike in water tariffs statewide. Under the MoU, Selangor will take over the operations of four water concessionaires — Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Bhd (Syabas), Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Konsortium Abbas Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Holdings Bhd (Splash) — for RM9.65 billion, and will place these under the state-owned Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Sdn Bhd (KDEB). In return, Selangor undertakes to provide the necessary approvals for the construction of the controversial Langat 2 water treatment plant, which PR has fought since it first took control of the state in Election 2008. -MMail-
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