JOHOR BARU: A state executive councillor has denied claims that repair works for last week’s water disruption were deliberately delayed to "sabotage" the PKR national congress.
Johor works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said there was no connection between the two incidents at all.
"Macam tak ada kerja pula (It is as if we have nothing to do).
“This (the water issue) has nothing to do with the congress,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of the Johor state assembly here on Monday (May 26).
Mohamad Fazli was responding to media questions about rumours that the repair works were delayed due to the congress.
The PKR national congress, which includes the congresses for PKr Youth and Wanita PKR, were held last Friday and Saturday.
On the water disruption, he said workshops would be held soon with water operator Ranhill SAJ to establish better standard operating procedures (SOPs) to handle such crises in the future.
“We will be having the workshop in a week or two to review the existing SOPs, including the communication process with account holders.
“One of the main issues raised was the water operator’s failure to inform users early on about the faulty water pumps, which led them to continue using water from their reserve tanks as usual,” he said.
Asked if action would be taken against the operator, Mohamad Fazli said only the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) had the authority to do so.
“Only SPAN can take action, as they are the regulatory body for water operators.
“They have received a report on the incident and are monitoring the situation.
“We will wait to see what they decide, whether to take action against the operator or review the existing SOPs,” he said.
Earlier, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi announced that over 155,000 account holders affected by the disruption would receive a 15% rebate.
Onn Hafiz also apologised on behalf of the state government to all Johoreans affected by the crisis.
The water disruption, which began on Wednesday (May 21), lasted until Saturday (May 24), affecting account holders in Iskandar Puteri and Johor Baru.
