Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR: It seems that the Selangor water impasse, which was expected to be resolved yesterday with the signing of a new supplementary agreement, is now set to prolong further as The Edge Financial Daily has learnt that both the federal and Selangor governments need more time to clarify the details of the agreement before sealing the deal.

It is understood that the draft supplementary water agreement that would bring about Selangor’s water consolidation has gone back for further amendments.

“Apparently, Azmin (Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali) will ask for some further amendments after chairing the Selangor exco (executive council) meeting yesterday (Wednesday). Some terms needs to be renegotiated,” a source with knowledge of the matter told The Edge Financial Daily.

Perhaps the actual draft was not as what was promised or discussed by both parties, the source said. It is not certain at this point what are the issues forcing Selangor to reassess the draft, the source added.Several Selangor exco members, when contacted, remained tight-lipped on the details discussed during Wednesday’s state-exco meeting.

Yesterday, The Edge Financial Daily reported that the federal and Selangor governments were set to sign the supplementary agreement, which would see the state maintaining ownership of its water assets and Putrajaya proceeding with the long-delayed development of the Langat 2 water treatment plant project. 

Quoting a source, the daily said that the federal government had conceded most of the points of contention in the master agreement that were raised by the Selangor government led by Mohamed Azmin, points that had stalled efforts to finalise the state’s water restructuring so far.

One key issue was that the ownership of land that the water assets sit on remains with the state government post-restructuring. 

Meanwhile, shares in water pipe manufacturers such as Engtex Group Bhd, rose four sen or 3.67% to close at RM1.13 yesterday after heavy trading, boosted by news that the protracted water impasse in Selangor could be resolved with the new supplementary agreement.

 

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 26, 2015.

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