SHAH ALAM: Selangor Menteri Besar (MB) Mohamed Azmin Ali has asked for a full public disclosure of documents in the state’s water restructuring exercise. These documents are currently under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972.

Azmin said he would write to the federal government to demand that the contents of the signed water deal between the previous administration and the government be revealed.

“I will write to the federal government to allow the agreement to be open to the public. My officers will help with the arguments, [and] we will send it in a week or so,” he said, adding that his administration has yet to be able to view any of the documents related to the deal.

Azmin said that in a previous state assembly sitting, he had urged that any document inked with Putrajaya be exempted from the OSA. Unfortunately, he said the memorandum of understanding, the heads of agreement and memorandum of agreement (MoA) signed by the government were put under the Act.

Azmin said he held a meeting yesterday with the State Economic Action Council to get an explanation from Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd (KDEB) and the state Economic Planning Unit on the steps taken after the water deal was finalised on Sept 12.

He said he urged for an open tender for the Langat 2 water treatment plant project.

The MoA signed between Selangor and the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water last month involved the takeover of four private water concessionaires.

KDEB had purchased Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) for RM4.34 billon, Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd for RM2.47 billion and Konsortium Abbas Sdn Bhd for RM992.2 million.The deal with Splash has not been finalised, with the offer standing at RM1.83 billion.

Yesterday’s meeting with the council also discussed preparations for the upcoming Budget 2015 and the main issues to focus on, especially housing and education. — The Malaysian Insider


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 3, 2014.