Access to water shouldn’t be a pipe dream

HOW does it feel to turn on your tap only to find murky water the colour of teh tarik flowing out of it on a daily basis? On bad days, the water could turn a darker hue, similar to that of a kopi-o peng or teh-o.

No, we are not talking about your daily coffee and tea fix; we are talking about the water supply in the east coast state of Kelantan.

Some may be surprised to know that this is happening in Malaysia, nearly 70 years after independence, but this is the reality in some parts of the state.

This writer once found, on a trip to the land of Cik Siti Wan Kembang, that some far-flung villages in Kuala Krai were dependent on wells for their water supply. This water, despite being soiled by rubbish, was used on a day-to-day basis.

Some villagers were lucky that non-governmental groups working in the area have contributed tube wells, which have given them access to cleaner water from groundwater sources.

Liza, a resident of the Malaysian-Thai border town of Rantau Panjang, said the same teh tarik coloured water was flowing out of the tap of a hospital her father had been admitted to. Filtered water was available for drinking, however.

“Just imagine, people are already sick, and then this is the quality of the water flowing out of the taps. I bought mineral water for my mum to wash up as she was by my dad’s side at the hospital,” she said.

Before they installed a water filter and electric pump system in their home, her mother used mineral water to wash food ingredients, she added.

There are plenty of similar anecdotes. One can always find residents there ranting on social media.

It is common in PAS-ruled Kelantan for people like Liza to take matters into their own hands – installing their own electric water pumps and tube wells, which can cost thousands of ringgit.

Well, those who can afford it will resort to this measure, but how about those who have to rely solely on their taps?

The water woes have become a political hot button of sorts, with both sides of the divide blaming each other over the years.

PAS has blamed the cancellation of the Bekalan Air Kelantan Utara (Baku) project by the Federal Government in 1990 for the water woes that have lasted for over 30 years, while others have blamed PAS for not finding a solution to the problem even after three decades.

The state’s water authority was eventually privatised. However, Kelantan has also been burdened with limited funds to tackle the issue.

During Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s tenure as prime minister, there was a move to restructure water services in Kelantan.

In 2021, then Environment and Water minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said that only 71.7% of Kelantan folk had access to clean water. The state’s non-revenue water rate was also at 52%.

Water industry experts said that almost 90% of the population in the state would have had access to clean water by now had services been restructured earlier.

The colour and quality of the water were also caused by dilapidated and corroded pipes and assets, one expert had said.

What Kelantan needs is investment in its water assets, including the upgrading of treatment plants and infrastructure.

Despite the impending state elections, this is not the time for the blame game on whether it is the Federal Government or the PAS-led state government’s fault.

Three decades is a long time to live with limited access to clean water. It is time that the government do right by the people of Kelantan. At the very least, the people there have the right to a clean water supply like most of Malaysia.

Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad was recently quoted as saying that Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd also had to ensure good governance for the problem to be solved. There is no doubt that good governance is of utmost importance.

The former Perikatan Nasional government had mooted a RM1.3bil Takungan Air Pinggiran Sungai (TAPS) water reservoir project to be implemented in Machang.

Tuan Ibrahim said then that the project – capable of supplying 500 million litres of water per day – had the potential to put an end to the state’s water woes. It remains to be seen how this will shape up now.

Kelantan has also allocated a total of RM141.2mil since 2019 to replace 226km of pipes in four districts – Tanah Merah, Kuala Krai, Kota Baru, and Machang.

On May 14, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gave his commitment that the water woes in Kelantan and Sabah would be resolved by the end of the year.

Anwar said this would be done “even if it takes billions” of ringgit.

“We can’t solve this in silos. This has nothing to do with the state elections or what not. It’s about the people,” he said.

About RM1bil has also been reportedly allocated for the issue.

According to reports, the Prime Minister is expected to meet the Kelantan Mentri Besar on the matter soon. Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah reportedly said last year that the state had not received the allocation it was due.

“We were supposed to get RM2bil from the Federal Government under the water migration project in 2016, but unfortunately, we did not receive the allocation due to technical and political issues,” he was quoted as saying by an English daily on Nov 24 last year.

If the federal and state governments continue to work in silos, the results will be disastrous. No one has the time to wait for another 30 to 40 years for clean water.

The government must ensure that clean water does not remain a pipe dream for the Kelantanese.