YOURSAY | Nation on auto-pilot as we face water cuts, Covid-19

YOURSAY | ‘It is now every man for himself. The ‘govt’ we are now saddled with will not protect us…’

Water cuts in S’gor again as second case of river pollution detected

MS: Insulting those who are getting paid for water security and supply does not appear to make any difference to them. If it did, the scorn and vitriol poured on them during the last two disruptions would have worked. They are as shameless as they are clueless.

Their political masters, to whom they owe their allegiance to, are too busy indulging in snarling dogfights to care. In any case, Air Selangor will be sending tankers to their palatial houses to fill their oversized tanks and pools first as a matter of priority. Their political masters’ comfort is paramount.

These frequent water cuts affecting millions of citizens, denying them the means for sanitation during a pandemic, plus the adamant refusal to enforce the law on law-breaking quarantine-flouting politicians prove one thing - the country is really on autopilot.

There is really no functioning government to speak of. Instead, the country is in the hands of bumbling, fawning civil servants, incompetent but highly-paid administrators, and corrupt support services and contractors answering to political warlords and middlemen.

It is now every man for himself. The "government" we are now saddled with will not protect us or serve our most basic of needs. It has neither the competence nor the interest to do so.

Bobby0: Why is Selangor facing the same situation time and again? Are there people sabotaging the water system to create dissatisfaction among the people?

Selangor has been called the richest state and it is a very valuable financial hub. Isn’t it time for the water department to add more security or protect the water resources from being affected repeatedly?

Sphzxcv: @Bobby0, the "richest" is a word corrupt politicians love. It only means there is more money for them to siphon off.

I have said before that this will happen again and again as long as the government does not relocate factories away from water sources.

Whether intentional or not, as long as factories are near our water sources, the chances of water contamination exist. But I didn’t expect it to happen so soon after the earlier case.

The government till today is still dragging its feet to resolve these problems, like every other issue in this country. A week from now, after the water supply is restored, the whole issue will be forgotten.

For the next few days, however, there will be lots of anger from the rakyat, lots of statements from the authorities, but no action taken to resolve the issue.

The factory will be fined, the owners jailed perhaps, but still no action to resolve the root cause of the issue. This is the state of the country we are in. Corruption is bringing the country down to its knees.

Raja Chulan: I don't believe water disruptions are entirely due to pollutants caused by so-called irresponsible people. There are pollutants anywhere in the world.

Take Jakarta, Calcutta, Mumbai, or Chennai for example. There, the pollutant levels are way above what you could imagine happening in the Klang Valley, yet there are no water cuts just because of someone polluting the river.

Yes, polluting the river is bad and should be enforced with commensurate punishment. But it is an entirely separate matter as to why we in the Klang Valley ought to experience frequent water disruptions.

Here, I believe the frequent water cuts are mainly due to incompetence in water management. Air Selangor is run by incompetent and mediocre people.

The issue of pollution dumped into rivers has also to do with the government's bad policies and actions. One company, Kualiti Alam Hijau, was given the right to treat industrial scheduled/toxic waste and they therefore accordingly take the opportunity to charge high treatment charges.

So, industrial businesses, especially during these difficult times, may choose to dump waste into rivers. You may blame them but many people are on survival-or-die mode.

Additionally, with the state of politics in Malaysia, especially in Selangor, there are hidden hands who are tussling for control of the state making things worse.

In the meantime, VIPs and politicians get their supply of water on a priority basis, quietly. The political game/tussle continues and the civil servants at Air Selangor continue to provide lacklustre service but continue to receive a good salary and other perks uninterrupted. The rakyat continue to suffer.

Century Egg: We hold the state leader, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, accountable for these constant water disruptions. If he can't manage Air Selangor, it's time for his replacement.

It has become not only an irritant in this pandemic but a water shortage also causes great business losses for everyone, from large industries to the smallest SME (small and medium enterprise).

It’s time for him to buck up or ship out before the state opposition uses this as an excuse to mount a backdoor takeover of the Selangor government.

YellowCondor2074: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, you’ve done more than enough to try to “unseat” this useless Perikatan Nasional (PN) government. Now, it is beyond your reach.

But the state of Selangor is very much Pakatan Harapan’s (for now). Do not ignore this issue or leave this for Amirudin to fix. If Amirudin is among the pengkhianats (traitors), he will certainly play a delaying and blame game until Harapan totally loses the rakyat’s confidence.

Anwar, do not let these idiots repeat what Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin, and Azmin Ali did to Harapan at the federal level. Put the prime ministership issue aside and address this issue now.

Anonymous 540: The federal government lacks leadership and appoints key positions not based on capabilities. So, I solely blame them for all these mishaps, from bungling efforts to fight Covid-19 to floods, and water contamination.

They are politicking 24/7. All while the economy is collapsing and the country going to the dogs.

Jay: We cannot put up with this incompetence any longer. We need a two-pronged approach:

1. Immediate sacking and replacement of top management of authorities involved.

2. Immediate jailing of directors of companies involved.

Disrupting water supply is a terrorist act and a threat to national security.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 500,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.