Penang CM in direct line of fire

The goodwill that greeted Chow when he rose to the top job in Penang is being washed away by a black swan in the form of an unprecedented water crisis.

PENANG Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow came under tremendous pressure as he wrestled with an unprecedented water crisis in Penang.

His government’s reputation as a well-managed state took a plunge when taps suddenly ran dry in large parts of the state after a major water supply pipe that ran beneath the Prai River burst and took days to repair.

The incident was what economists would term a black swan, an unpredictable event with dire consequences.

Some households went without water for more than a week.

It was like a harbinger of what may happen next month when repair works at a treatment plant will shut down the water supply for several days. The scheduled water disruption from Jan 10-14 will affect almost the entire state and some 590,000 households.

All this had come on the heels of a controversial industrial land deal in Batu Kawan which The Edge business publication in its year-end issue labelled as a “Turkey of the Year”.

The land deal, since aborted, was executed by the Penang Development Corporation while water comes under the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP).

Both of these state corporations are chaired by Chow in his capacity as Chief Minister. As a result, the buck stopped at his feet and so did a deluge of public frustration and anger.

“One big issue after another. When it rains, it pours,” said Sin Chew columnist Jeff Ooi, a top-notch observer of Penang politics.

The man who was once Penang’s most likeable politician has been in the direct line of fire with some opposition parties asking him to resign - something that DAP was famous for doing when it was in the opposition.

To add to his troubles, Chow is in a running battle with powerful Penang tycoon Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping, who is said to be close to former chief minister Lim Guan Eng.

Their quarrel was sparked off by comments Tan made about the dodgy Batu Kawan land deal. Things between them then worsened over a development project at the state-run Jubilee Home for the aged in which Tan was involved. Tan announced on Thursday that he is suing Chow over the Jubilee Home issue.

Over and above all this is the ongoing tensions between Chow and his predecessor which is playing out like a soap opera.

“Sentiments are simmering. The CM has to make sure the scheduled water disruption next month runs smoothly or else he will be heading into a perfect storm,” said Ooi.

The Chinese vernacular press has gone to town on the water issue. Some of their reports have annoyed the Chief Minister such as a front-page report that some 1,000 factories may shut down next month because of uncertainty over when water will be restored after the disruption.

It is quite a blow for Penang’s reputation as a manufacturing and tourism hub.

This despite Chow clarifying that although it was earlier stated that the water cut would last 96 hours, the actual repair work would only take 24 hours and restoration of supply would commence after that.

Unfortunately, there is a trust deficit among many consumers after hiccups over the resupply process last week.

Lorries hawking water containers of all sizes have also been plying Penang neighbourhoods as businessmen feed on the panic.

Penang’s water supply body used to be the pride of the state, its high standards established by its pioneer general manager, the late Datuk Kam U Tee.

The blame has fallen on Chow and, quite unfairly, on K. Pathmanathan who took over as CEO of the water body in November last year.

It is likely the rot in PBAPP set in years before that. The former CEO Datuk Seri Jaseni Maidinsa was in charge for 15 years. What was he doing?

The impression was that Chow has not been getting the full support of his team. His state exco in charge of infrastructure, transport and digital, Zairil Khir Johari, was nowhere in sight.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid, whose Batu Maung constituency was badly affected, was posting pictures of the family holidaying in Egypt and Jordan on social media.

That was until he was called out by Seberang Jaya assemblyman Izhar Shah Arif Shah, a first-time assemblyman who has shown that voters made the right decision in choosing him.

The Bersatu Youth Chief in Permatang Pauh has set up a hotline and crisis management centre involving the residents associations, mosque/surau groups and the Village Development and Security Commission to help monitor and manage the impending water cut.

He is also trying to rent two private sector water tankers as a backup to the state tankers.

“The Hindus in my constituency will be celebrating Ponggal on Jan 15. I want to make sure they have water to clean their house and prepare for their new year.

“I also want to propose that the water tankers be equipped with GPS tracking so that their schedule and location can be shared for residents to know when to start waiting. It is pitiful to see long lines of people waiting in the night for the tankers,” said Izhar Shah.

Water, said Izhar Shah, is a security issue and more measures need to be put in place.

Certain politicians in Penang had mocked the Kelantan government about the water problem there and what happened has been a wake-up call.

There has been too much focus on glamour projects like the undersea tunnel and building cities out of reclaimed land in Penang. Greater consideration has to be given to basic needs and the people’s quality of life.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own