Maximus: Selangor govt must name its price if it wants to take over SPLASH

KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor state government must “name its price” if it wants to acquire Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (SPLASH), said Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili (pic).

The Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister said that all matters involved in the takeover had been settled, with the exception of the asset value.

“I’m surprised, why is the current Selangor Mentri Besar afraid to follow his predecessor and simply name the price? The Klang MP (Charles Santiago) claims it is the federal government’s job to name the price, but per the willing buyer willing seller system, the state that is buying the asset should decide this," he said.

Dr Ongkili said in reply to a question by Budiman Mohd Zohdi (BN - Sungai Besar) in Parliament on Tuesday (March 13)that the federal government is only a facilitator that will provide the appropriate funding if need be.

The water supply in the Klang Valley has been disrupted since Tuesday due to repairs to a burst surge vessel system at the Sungai Selangor Phase Three Water Treatment Plant (SSP3).

The state government has blamed SPLASH for this, saying the concessionaire had not spotted the damage and scheduled repairs in time.

However, Dr Ongkili said the decision to take over SPLASH rests entirely on the shoulders of the Selangor state government as per the main deal signed in Sept 2014.

He added that the federal government has no power or intent to interfere in the process of determining a fair value for SPLASH because the deal is based on a willing buyer, willing seller concept.

“As such, it is not fair for the state government to accuse the federal government. We see this as a political issue to get public attention and blame us over the delay in the takeover,” he said.