Kedah water storage plan will impact the economy and people of neighbouring states – Awer

PETALING JAYA: The plan to build 14 water storage areas along Sungai Muda by the Kedah state government has been met with criticism from various organisations.

Kedah Mentri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said these storage areas under the Takungan Air Pinggiran Sungai system will be 20m to 30m deep and 1Km wide along Sungai Muda.

He said the storage was to ensure that Kedahans have sufficient water but it could also possibly reduce water supply to Penang’s residents.

Muhammad Sanusi also warned Penang that if it did not compensate Kedah for water drawn from the river, the state should be prepared to draw mud from its end of Sunga Muda, which is in Kepala Batas.

The Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (Awer) told theSun such a situation would impact the economy and the people of both Penang and Kedah.

“Seeing as many Kedahans work in Penang and institutions such as the Kulim High Tech heavily depend on Penang’s industries, homework must be done before ending up shooting one’s own self,” Awer president S. Piarapakaran said.

He suggested that since the issue stems from Kedah’s request for raw water payment from Penang, the two states could agree to a raw water quality-based tariff.

“Penang will pay based on the quality of raw water that comes from Sungai Muda and in return, Kedah will be legally obliged to protect Ulu Muda catchment areas,” he said.

Failure to do so would mean that Penang will then be able to seek compensation for the increase in treatment cost or lack of availability in raw water, he added.

Piarapakaran also urged the federal government to step in by citing the Water Services Industry Act 2006. “If any project is introduced with the intention of tampering water supply security in any other state, the wrongful government can be dragged to court as stated in Section 125,” he said.

If the intention is to supply mud water, both the Kedah MB and his government can be charged under Section 121, Piarapakaran added.

Meanwhile, Water Watch Penang president Prof Dr Chan Ngai Weng said the plan is ill-conceived, unlawful and endangers the livelihood of all Penangites as well as its economy.

“Although Kedah’s plan appears to ensure water security for Kedahans and its padi farmers, there is no denying that this plan will drastically reduce water supply in Penang as the quantity and quality of water flowing into Penang in the Sungai Muda would be significantly reduced,” he said.

Chan added the Kedah MB must negotiate and propose workable plans and solutions with other states instead of approaching things in a confrontational way.

“We view the dispute as an issue which is escalating towards dangerous territory, and will not benefit anyone. We are appealing to the Kedah MB to cancel this project as Sungai Muda also supplies drinking water to more than four million people in Kedah, Perlis and Penang.”

Penang Water Supply Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said any proposal from the Kedah government regarding the raw water source of Sungai Muda should receive further consideration from the federal government.

“This is because we know that Sungai Muda supports the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country with a value of billions of ringgit as well as to meet the needs of millions of people,” he said.

Electronics manufacturing, which produced 39.4% of Malaysia’s total exports in 2020, requires a lot of water. The manufacturing sector also contributes to about 43% of Penang’s GDP.

The project will have a negative impact as it is estimated 80% of Penang’s water is extracted from Sungai Muda.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow had said Penang had been extracting raw water from Sungai Muda since 1973 and had every right to continue doing so as it never signed any agreement to pay Kedah for the resource.