Johor folk to receive single water services bill next year

JOHOR BARU: Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd (SAJ) and Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd (IWK) have signed a joint billing agreement for water supply and sewerage services in Johor.

Under the agreement, consumers will receive a joint bill issued by SAJ listing the charges for both water supply and sewerage services.

From 2019 onwards, all bill-related matters will be referred to SAJ while operational matters will still be directed to both entities.

SAJ is the subsidiary of Ranhill Holdings Bhd.

Ranhill Holdings president and chief executive Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamad said SAJ was pleased to launch the integrated billing system with IWK.

“Already practised in many developed countries, this is a breakthrough step towards achieving integrated water services and incorporating a green billing element for the state.

“Our ‘source-to-tap’ concept entails the complete cycle of water services, from the sourcing and treatment of raw water to supplying potable water to consumers, as well as bill collection.

“Single billing is an international industry standard and given the high collection rate in Johor, it is timely to implement this to propel the industry forward,” he said.

IWK chief executive Faizal Othman said the initiative showed the company’s commitment to provide the “highest level of service” to their customers.

“It is a natural progression to take this streamlined approach and provide one single bill.

“Not only is this expected to improve efficiency, it is also beneficial for customers, facilitating ease of payment by providing a single point of contact,” he said.

He added that IWK was seeking to implement joint billing with other state operators as part of their plans to restructure the water supply and sewerage services in the whole country.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jeyakumar was also present to witness the signing of the agreement.