Federal Government failed to stick to conditions, says Azmin

KUALA LUMPUR: While adamant that the deadline for the ongoing plan to restructure the water industry in Selangor had expired yesterday, Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali hinted at further talks with the Federal Government on the issue.

“The agreement (water deal) lapsed today and we (the Selangor state government) are not going to extend it.

“They (Federal Government) breached the agreement and did not honour it,” he said at Parliament lobby yesterday.

He said the Federal Government had failed to adhere to certain preconditions set by the state government and which had to be met by the deadline.

He said he would elaborate on the preconditions at a press conference today.

Asked if there would be no more negotiations to revive the deal, Azmin said that he was still waiting to get official word from the federal authorities on any new terms.

“I want to see what new terms they want to discuss with the state. The ball is in their court,” he said.

Azmin noted that as with the Kidex project, it was only when the state cancelled it that the federal authorities wanted to hold discussions.

“When we cancelled Kidex, only then did the minister want to discuss (the) Selangor master public transportation (plan),” he said of the project involving a 14.9km elevated tolled expressway to reduce travel time from Damansara to Kinrara.

Last September, former Selangor MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim signed the RM9.65bil water deal with the Federal Government.

Soon after taking over from Khalid, Azmin gave an assurance that he would honour the water deal after reviewing its details.

He gave the Federal Government a month’s extension to negotiate the water deal with the state on two occasions, on Jan 9 and Feb 9.

In Klang, Khalid expressed his shock over what he termed as a “unilateral” announcement by Azmin.

“I wish to reiterate that the restructuring exercise that began in earnest in 2008 is meant to benefit the rakyat.

“I personally believe both the Federal and state governments must eat humble pie and agree on a solution that will ultimately benefit the rakyat,” said Khalid in a message sent through one of his former aides.

He alleged that lopsided agreements in favour of concession companies have put the rakyat at the losing end for so long.

“It has to stop,” said Khalid, adding that the details of Azmin’s announcement were too scant for him to make further comments.