KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 17): The government is drafting a new national water policy to address weaknesses in the existing mechanism, the Parliament was told today.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said this includes preparing the planning framework and a holistic national water action plan across various sectors, by sustainably handling issues and weaknesses in the existing mechanism.

The preparation also includes coming up with appropriate action to ensure the safety and sustainability of the country’s water, he said in a parliamentary reply to a question by Member of Parliament for Selayang William Leong on water matters.

“Issues on safety and sustainability of water are closely related to land and natural resources matters in every state.

"Therefore, under this ministry, all aspects of forest conservation, biodiversity, protection of catchment area and the use of land that are related directly to water sources, will be managed in an integrated manner to ensure the continuity of water supply that is able to fulfil the people’s demand,” he said.

Xavier also said the government is moving in the direction of water demand management from supply management.

“The focus will be on reducing the demand of water supply through various measures such as mandatory use of water efficient products, exploring alternative water sources, audit on efficiency of water consumption and the use of efficient water sources across all economic sectors like domestic, agriculture and electricity generation,” he said.