(Petaling Jaya, Wednesday): DAP MPs and Selangor State Assembly members will meet the Works Minister, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu for a briefing on the latest situation on the water shortage crisis in the Klang Valley and the country.
The water crisis in the Klang Valley could have been averted if the relevant authorities at both the Federal and State Governments had been far-sighted and taken proper steps to provide for contingency plans for a situation which was not completely unexpected.
In fact, warnings had been sounded many times in the past of an impending water shortage crisis in the Klang Valley but the authorities did not bestir from their smugness and complacency to do what is expected of a responsible government.
The statement by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yesterday is most disappointing as he tried to play down the gravity and responsibility for the water shortage crisis by stating that it would not affect the investment climate and that some state governments had thought that they were sufficiently prepared for the worst.
The water shortage crisis, the latest in a series of crisis to have hit Malaysia, has gravely undermined Malaysia's international image as a first-class nation with the basic infrastructure facilities comparable to the best in other countries.
Suddenly, Malaysia is getting unfavourable international publicity as a country where clean air and piped water cannot be taken for granted - which cannot but have an adverse effect on investment, tourism and the forthcoming SUKOM.
The message Mahathir should send out on the water shortage crisis should not be one of resignation and acceptance, but one of outrage and a demand for a culture of responsibility with the directive that actions should be taken against those who have failed to make the necessary contingency plans to prepare for and to spare Malaysians from an acute water shortage crisis.
(15/4/98)