Four state water bodies to be corporatised by year-end
The Edge Daily (10/7/08): The corporatisation exercise of four state water authorities - in Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Kedah and Perak - is expected to be finalised by the end of this year, said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor yesterday.
Replying to a question from Mohd Nasir Zakaria (Padang Terap-PAS) in the Dewan Rakyat, he said a similar exercise in Perlis and Federal Territory of Labuan is expected to take place by the middle of next year.
"As for several other states which have already privatised their water services, they are negotiating with the concessionaires in the respective states in order to go into the licensing regime," he said.
Shaziman said the government would like to enhance the efficiency and competency of the water service in all states through the restructuring of the water industry.
"The ministry believes that the monitoring method through licensing regimes is suitable for enhancing the operations of water entities in each of the states," he added.
To a question why the process of corporatisation was going very slowly, Shaziman said it took a long time because the government has to ensure that the water industry is well-managed and is beneficial to the people.
Meanwhile, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the prospects of the cocoa industry in the country were still bright despite the perception that Malaysia's cocoa has poor demand in the world market due to its acidic content.
Answering a supplementary question from Prof Dr P Ramasamy (Batu Kawan-DAP), he said the price of dry cocoa seed in the world market at RM9,000 per tonne has shown that "the price is still good".
"Unfortunately, we don't have enough production for the industry in Malaysia. That's why we encourage farmers to replace old trees with good seeds in the future," he said.
Replying to a question from Mohd Nasir Zakaria (Padang Terap-PAS) in the Dewan Rakyat, he said a similar exercise in Perlis and Federal Territory of Labuan is expected to take place by the middle of next year.
"As for several other states which have already privatised their water services, they are negotiating with the concessionaires in the respective states in order to go into the licensing regime," he said.
Shaziman said the government would like to enhance the efficiency and competency of the water service in all states through the restructuring of the water industry.
"The ministry believes that the monitoring method through licensing regimes is suitable for enhancing the operations of water entities in each of the states," he added.
To a question why the process of corporatisation was going very slowly, Shaziman said it took a long time because the government has to ensure that the water industry is well-managed and is beneficial to the people.
Meanwhile, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui said the prospects of the cocoa industry in the country were still bright despite the perception that Malaysia's cocoa has poor demand in the world market due to its acidic content.
Answering a supplementary question from Prof Dr P Ramasamy (Batu Kawan-DAP), he said the price of dry cocoa seed in the world market at RM9,000 per tonne has shown that "the price is still good".
"Unfortunately, we don't have enough production for the industry in Malaysia. That's why we encourage farmers to replace old trees with good seeds in the future," he said.
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