On the RM10 billion Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer proje
- 9 years ago
What are your thoughts on the RM10 billion Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer project? Will it go on?
It must continue. The project is a major project, it will both give revenue to the state of Pahang as well as to cater to the future needs of water in Selangor.
But some quarters say the financial costs as well as the environmental costs are more than the benefits.
That they don't have to worry about. We will do the arithmetic and we will do it better. We will inform the public later once I declassify the contracts that are under the Official Secrets Act.
After we have declassified the information, from time to time, I will inform the public about the costs of this project, who are the beneficiaries, how much the Pahang government will receive, how much the pipeline costs, how much the treatment plant costs, how much it costs to bring water to Selangor and so on.
Won't whole communities of Orang Asli and Malay farmers - who are living and working in the land targeted for the Kelau Dam part - experience severe dislocation on account of the inter-state water transfer project?
We have to sit down with them to discuss adequate compensation.
What about the considerable environmental costs of the project? Hundreds of species of plants and animals are said to be threatened once the Kelau Dam is built and begins operations.
We have to take care of the environment. If it cannot be done, we have to find other options to do that. I have not reviewed all of the environmental impacts, but I must say that the previous state government and the federal government would have considered that issue, hopefully in the sensitive manner that we wanted.
It must continue. The project is a major project, it will both give revenue to the state of Pahang as well as to cater to the future needs of water in Selangor.
But some quarters say the financial costs as well as the environmental costs are more than the benefits.
That they don't have to worry about. We will do the arithmetic and we will do it better. We will inform the public later once I declassify the contracts that are under the Official Secrets Act.
After we have declassified the information, from time to time, I will inform the public about the costs of this project, who are the beneficiaries, how much the Pahang government will receive, how much the pipeline costs, how much the treatment plant costs, how much it costs to bring water to Selangor and so on.
Won't whole communities of Orang Asli and Malay farmers - who are living and working in the land targeted for the Kelau Dam part - experience severe dislocation on account of the inter-state water transfer project?
We have to sit down with them to discuss adequate compensation.
What about the considerable environmental costs of the project? Hundreds of species of plants and animals are said to be threatened once the Kelau Dam is built and begins operations.
We have to take care of the environment. If it cannot be done, we have to find other options to do that. I have not reviewed all of the environmental impacts, but I must say that the previous state government and the federal government would have considered that issue, hopefully in the sensitive manner that we wanted.