It’s no secret that Kelantan has been having problems with their water supply for the longest time. From water shortages to dirty, rusty water, it’s safe to say that Kelantan folks are suffering without a basic necessity.
So much so that many have questioned why there have been close to no efforts to improve the situation. But, is that really true?
Former Kangar MP Noor Amin Ahmad recently took to his Twitter page to showcase a throwback, a written Parliamentary response by former Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man from 2021, explaining that more than RM1 billion had been channeled to the state in order to fix their water supply issues over the years.
This comes after Ir. Ts. Khairil Nizam had asked Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim for an update on the efforts of his then ministry on the water management infrastructure upgrades for Kelantan that, in his words, is a right that has been long denied by the Federal Government.
“The Federal Government has basically never denied the state’s right to improve the level of water management in the state of Kelantan.”
“This can be seen through the allocation of RM1.073 billion, which has been spent since the Eight Malaysia Plan (RMKe-8) to the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (RMKe-11) where RM907 million was in the form of loans while the remaining RM166 million was in the form of grants,” Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim answered.
Oh, but that’s not all.
He also went on to share that more allocation for water supply projects were given under the Twelfth Malaysia Plan (RMKe-12).
“As much as RM196.6 million under Rolling Plan 1 (RP1) of the 12th RM where as much as RM53.7 million is in the form of loans and the balance amounting to RM142.9 million is in the form of grants. As much as RM103.7 million under Rolling Plan 1 (RP1) of the 12th RM where as much as RM48.7 million is in the form of loans and RM55 million is in the form of grants.”
“At the same time, Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB) has provided funding amounting to RM664.8 million for capital expenditure works (CAPEX) for the Fourth Operation period (OP4) (2021-2023),” he explained.
On top of that the Federal Government had also provided technical advisory services and CSR assistance led by the National Water Service Commission (SPAN) to resolve issues related to water supply in Kelantan.
Based on this, it appears that quite a large amount has already been channeled to the state in order to assist with improvements to their water supply.
So, the real question is, what was done with that amount?
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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