WORLD Water Day is celebrated every March 22 to mark the importance of water to human civilisation and the nature. It is part of a Decade for Water (2005-2015) activity by the UN. The annual celebration will be continued, but how far has Malaysia gone after a decade for water?
The failure to protect water catchments has begun to show its impact in many states. Rampant logging and change in land use are taking its toll on the raw water security. Change in land use and raw water are state governments’ jurisdiction. With increasing population and economic activities to support a growing nation, we need to secure more water resources and reclaim some of the polluted resources. All states need to protect more water catchment areas and not reduce them.
Densely populated areas will pose higher pollution loading to our rivers. Strategically, more pre-treatment facilities should be developed to ensure the river water quality can be improved over time.
Issues related to industry structure, cost efficiency, transparency, old infrastructure, high non-revenue water (NRW), failure in privatisation and tariff structure were the main reasons federal government pursued the implementation of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA) model for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan via National Water Services Industry Restructuring (NWSIR). Congratulations to the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (KeTTHA) for continuing its legacy of delaying NWSIR, which is supposed to be completed by the 9th Malaysia Plan period. Many of the important steps outlined in NWSIR are now postponed to 11th Malaysia Plan. Do we need to prepare for postponement to the 12th Malaysia Plan?
This World Water Day’s theme is Water and Jobs. All economic activities are dependent on water, one way or another. If we fail to secure our water needs, the consequences will be severe. That includes losing jobs. Water rationing in the Klang Valley back in 2014 should have given a glimpse of how water affects our daily life.
Every step we take now is a building block for a better future. In a natural catastrophe, the environment prevails as it has withstood many such catastrophes. Unfortunately, the inhabitants are lost.
Piarapakaran S.
President Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (Awer)
The failure to protect water catchments has begun to show its impact in many states. Rampant logging and change in land use are taking its toll on the raw water security. Change in land use and raw water are state governments’ jurisdiction. With increasing population and economic activities to support a growing nation, we need to secure more water resources and reclaim some of the polluted resources. All states need to protect more water catchment areas and not reduce them.
Densely populated areas will pose higher pollution loading to our rivers. Strategically, more pre-treatment facilities should be developed to ensure the river water quality can be improved over time.
Issues related to industry structure, cost efficiency, transparency, old infrastructure, high non-revenue water (NRW), failure in privatisation and tariff structure were the main reasons federal government pursued the implementation of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (WSIA) model for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan via National Water Services Industry Restructuring (NWSIR). Congratulations to the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (KeTTHA) for continuing its legacy of delaying NWSIR, which is supposed to be completed by the 9th Malaysia Plan period. Many of the important steps outlined in NWSIR are now postponed to 11th Malaysia Plan. Do we need to prepare for postponement to the 12th Malaysia Plan?
This World Water Day’s theme is Water and Jobs. All economic activities are dependent on water, one way or another. If we fail to secure our water needs, the consequences will be severe. That includes losing jobs. Water rationing in the Klang Valley back in 2014 should have given a glimpse of how water affects our daily life.
Every step we take now is a building block for a better future. In a natural catastrophe, the environment prevails as it has withstood many such catastrophes. Unfortunately, the inhabitants are lost.
Piarapakaran S.
President Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (Awer)