KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel supports the Selangor state government efforts to source raw water from former mining ponds.
“It is a good move to increase Selangor’s water capacity. But I advise that the water should be treated properly,” he told reporters after a Tamil New Year celebration here today.
The Selangor state executive council recently approved RM10 million for infrastructure works to pump water from old mining pools or ponds around the Sungai Selangor basin to Sungai Selangor.
Meanwhile, Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah said Peninsular Malaysia is expected to experience a second long draught during the southwest monsoon in early May.
“We will make the necessary preparations, including cloud seeding,” he said after a function in Gua Musang and advised people to conserve water and refrain from open burning.
Whereas in Selangor, state Youth and Sports, Infrastructure and Public Amenities Permanent Committee chairman Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi said the government did not discount a repeat of the current rationing next year as well.
“I don’t discount a water shortage next year. But we are implementing a number of mitigation programmes to increase the source,” he told a press conference.
He added that the Sungai Selangor Hybrid Off River Augmentation System expected to be completed mid-next year would also supply between 600 and 700 million litres of clean water daily.
— BERNAMA
