Kedah an obstacle to regional water authority, says activist
The Ulu Muda basin is a water catchment for Kedah as well as neighbouring Penang and Perlis. (Facebook pic)
GEORGE TOWN: An activist thinks Kedah will oppose the proposal for a regional water authority for the three northern states.
Penang Water Watch president Chan Ngai Weng said this is because it would require Kedah to relinquish its rights over the Ulu Muda basin, a water catchment for the state as well as neighbouring Penang and Perlis.
Conservationists and Penang officials have voiced concern that logging in the area could jeopardise water supply to states outside Kedah.
The Kedah government has cited the state’s financial needs in its defence of logging in Ulu Muda, adding that it would relent only if the state received compensation.
Chan Ngai Weng.
Chan said a regional water authority known as the Ulu Muda Basin Authority (Umba), as proposed by Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy, would go a long way towards resolving disputes between states.
Sungai Muda, which the basin flows into, is a transboundary river shared by Kedah and Penang. Transboundary rivers come under the concurrent list in the Federal Constitution.
“It should, therefore, come under the jurisdiction or purview of the federal government,” he told FMT.
“It is not fair or right for either of the two states to solely dictate what goes on in this basin. It must be a shared responsibility.”
However, he acknowledged that with a body such as Umba, the Kedah government would be unable to implement projects within the basin such as logging and land clearing without the authority’s approval.
“This is surely not appealing to Kedah, even frightening,” he said.
Chan also said the apparent lack of commitment from Putrajaya would be another obstacle to the establishment of Umba.
Last year, the environment and water ministry rejected Penang’s proposal to set up Umba, saying it would be seen as federal encroachment on a state’s land and water rights.
Penang Water Supply Corp CEO Jaseni Maidinsa told FMT the proposal for Umba should not be politicised as it affected the lives of more than four million people in Kedah, Penang and Perlis.
“The Ulu Muda and Sungai Muda basins are the primary raw water resources for the three states,” he said. “Hence it is in the federal government’s interest to preserve and protect them.”
GEORGE TOWN: An activist thinks Kedah will oppose the proposal for a regional water authority for the three northern states.
Penang Water Watch president Chan Ngai Weng said this is because it would require Kedah to relinquish its rights over the Ulu Muda basin, a water catchment for the state as well as neighbouring Penang and Perlis.
Conservationists and Penang officials have voiced concern that logging in the area could jeopardise water supply to states outside Kedah.
The Kedah government has cited the state’s financial needs in its defence of logging in Ulu Muda, adding that it would relent only if the state received compensation.
Chan Ngai Weng.Chan said a regional water authority known as the Ulu Muda Basin Authority (Umba), as proposed by Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy, would go a long way towards resolving disputes between states.
Sungai Muda, which the basin flows into, is a transboundary river shared by Kedah and Penang. Transboundary rivers come under the concurrent list in the Federal Constitution.
“It should, therefore, come under the jurisdiction or purview of the federal government,” he told FMT.
“It is not fair or right for either of the two states to solely dictate what goes on in this basin. It must be a shared responsibility.”
However, he acknowledged that with a body such as Umba, the Kedah government would be unable to implement projects within the basin such as logging and land clearing without the authority’s approval.
“This is surely not appealing to Kedah, even frightening,” he said.
Chan also said the apparent lack of commitment from Putrajaya would be another obstacle to the establishment of Umba.
Last year, the environment and water ministry rejected Penang’s proposal to set up Umba, saying it would be seen as federal encroachment on a state’s land and water rights.
Penang Water Supply Corp CEO Jaseni Maidinsa told FMT the proposal for Umba should not be politicised as it affected the lives of more than four million people in Kedah, Penang and Perlis.
“The Ulu Muda and Sungai Muda basins are the primary raw water resources for the three states,” he said. “Hence it is in the federal government’s interest to preserve and protect them.”
Kedah wants to have full control...without actually exercising governance, as the Baling must floods amply show.
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