SHAH ALAM, 28 Feb: The success of the restructuring of the water industry in Selangor proves that the State Government is committed in fighting for the rights and welfare of the people.

The Executive Councillor in charge of Education, Higher Learning and Human Capital Development, Dr Halimah Ali, said that the effort to acquire the concessionaires have been carried out consistently since 2008.

She said that the Federal Government actually flip-flopped when negotiations were held before finally making the decision to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government.

“We have been ready since six years ago, but all these while the government did not quite want it.

“In fact, we have also maintained with the RM9.65 billion offer to concessionaires,” she said right after the prayers at the Shah Alam Independence Square.

Yesterday, the federal government and the state government signed a MoU to enable the state government to take over the the equities of the four concessionaires; Puncak Niaga Sdn Bhd (PNSB), Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas), Syarikat Pengluar Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash) and Konsortium ABBAS Sdn Bhd (Abbas).

The acquisition is expected to complete in three months with all four concessionaires placed under one water consortium led by Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB).

The MoU was signed by the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, and the Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

The historic moment was witnessed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and several Cabinet Ministers and Selangor Executive Councillors.

Abdul Khalid in a statement yesterday insisted that the acquisition involves only the equity and responsibility and does not involve the cessation of non-management employees.