Sabah govt bars private companies from selling treated water to consumers

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has stopped private companies from selling treated water directly to consumers after reports of firms profiteering from the state’s water crisis, says Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.

The Deputy Chief Minister III said the state made the move after incidents of water tanker lorries belonging to private companies sending water to people or establishments that had placed orders and overcharging for their services.

Replying to Datuk Junz Wong (Parti Warisan-Tanjung Aru) during a question-and-answer session at the state assembly sitting on Tuesday (Aug 8), Shahelmey said the Sabah Water Department will now send water directly to buildings or government premises that faced water cuts.

“What we have done now is we have stopped the services of private firms from buying water and reselling to areas that have ordered their supply two weeks ago.

“We believe with the remedial and stabilisation efforts on the water supply, this matter should not occur anymore,” he said.

Shahelmey admitted, however, that the Water Department did not have sufficient water tanker lorries.

In such cases, he said, the department would acquire the services of private companies to send the water but that the charges should be on the department, not the consumers.

It was reported on July 26 that Shahelmey said a thorough probe was being carried out on contractors said to be profiteering in areas hit by the Sabah water crisis.

He said he had received numerous reports of companies making excessive profits, charging up to nearly 10 times the regular rate for water supply in these areas.

While it was not illegal to buy and sell water, especially during emergencies or for the areas with water shortages, he said that there were those who bought and sold at uncontrolled prices of up to RM14 or RM28 per cubic metre, when the price from the water depot was only RM3 per cubic metre.

Wong and another Warisan leader, Datuk Azis Jamman, had lodged a report on alleged profiteering by private water supply companies in Sabah with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in Putrajaya on July 27.

The two pointed out the recent controversy over the cost of water supplied to the Likas Women and Children’s Hospital here at a cost of RM145,000 for 23 days while the annual cost of water in 2022 was RM230,000.

They claimed that not only the hospital but hotels and apartment management companies have also been raising concerns over the prices.

To another question by Wong, Shahelmey said there were no plans as yet to allocate funds to reimburse individual consumers or industrial players who had purchased water from the private companies.