Syabas will remain in Malaysian hands

KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government will ensure that Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) does not fall into the hands of foreigners if it is taken over by the Selangor state government, said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor yesterday.

“We don’t want this strategic industry to be owned by foreigners. If I am not wrong the quota for foreigners is not more than 30%,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Puad Zakarshi (Batu Pahat-BN) in Dewan Rakyat.

Puad had asked why the Selangor state government wanted to take over Syabas, which is proven to be an efficient company. “That’s why there was a memorandum from the people in protest of the move by the Selangor state government in taking over Syabas,” said Puad.

It was reported that Selangor state investment arm Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad was in negotiations with Syabas to take over the company.

In August, the Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Consumers Association had submitted a memorandum urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the cabinet to not approve the takeover of Syabas by the state.

The memorandum claimed that consumers were satisfied with the services of Syabas and were worried that the cost of the takeover would be passed on to consumers.

To another question from Mohd Nasir Zakaria (Padang Terap-PAS), Shaziman said the federal government has no intention of making a profit out of the restructuring exercise.

He said SPAN had met with Kedah state government to clear the worries of the state to migrate the water assets to a new regime of licensing.

the edgedaily.com