Pembangkang bawa memorandum isu air ke parlimen

Oleh: Faisal Mustaffa

DEWAN RAKYAT 17 Jan - Ketua Pembangkang Parlimen Malaysian, Lim Kit Siang (DAP) telah membawa memorandum yang dihantar oleh sekumpulan badan-badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) ke Parlimen dalam membahaskan perlaksanaan pengurusan air di bawah kuasa Kerajaan Persekutuan bukan lagi Kerajaan Negeri.
Kit Siang telah membacakan kertas kerja yang disediakan oleh pakar air Malaysia, Charles Santiago yang mewakili FOMCA, MTUC, ERA Consumers, Asia Pacific Secretariat for Consumer Advocacy, Research and Education, Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization (MSN), Group of Concerned Citizens, Peoples’ Services Organization, yang menyamakan sumber air sebagai ‘Emas Biru’ atau ‘Blue Gold’ kerana penswastaan perkhidmatan air merupakan satu perniagaan yang bernilai berbilion ringgit.

Charles menyebut dalam kertas kerjanya bahawa kajian sumber air Kebangsaan 2000 yang ditauliahkan oleh Unit Perancangan Ekonomi, Jabatan Perdana Menteri (EPU) dan terhad kepada Semenanjung Malaysia telah menganggarkan nilai industri air dalam tempoh 50 tahun di antara tahun 2000 ke tahun 2050 adalah dalam jurang RM51.6 bilion ke RM77 bilion. Anggaran sejumlah RM15.4 bilion akan dibelanjakan di antara tahun 2000 dan 2005.

"Mungkinkah kini wujud desakan yang sukar dibendung dari dua ’K’ iaitu kroni dan korporat yang tidak bersedia untuk tunggu lagi bagi mengambil bahagian dalam bonanza Emas Biru yang akan muncul daripada penswastaan sumber-sumber air di negara ini yang meluru dan tidak terkawal?" baca Kit Siang di hadapan Yang diPertua.

Kit Siang memberitahu, semasa membuka forum awam anjuran FOMCA 'Is Malaysia ready for privatization of water resource' pada 31 Julai 200, Yang Berhormat Menteri Tenaga, Air dan Komunikasi telah menyentuh isu pengurusan sumber-sumber air yang berkekalan demi memastikan bahawa air yang secukupnya dapat memenuhi keperluan sosial ekonomi dan alam sekitar.

"Adakah wujud kesedaran yang secukupnya bahawa syarat yang mewajibkan untuk pengurusan sumber-sumber air yang berkekalan adalah dengan adanya sistem pentadbiran baik yang berkekalan di mana accountability, ketelusan, sikap hormat kerajaan terhadap hak mendapat maklumat yang diperlukan oleh rakyat jelata, semak dan imbang (check and balance) yang berkesan untuk mencegah rasuah serta salah guna kuasa."

Beliau mengkritik kenyataan Menteri yang bercadang untuk mengikut jejak Britain yang memberikan ruang penglibatan yang lebih kepada para pengguna dalam industri air dengan menubuhkan Forum Air sama seperti Water Voice di U.K tetapi hanya memahami bentuk luar tetapi bukan intipati yang dimaksudkan sebagai penglibatan dalam proses membuat keputusan oleh semua pihak yang terjejas.

Menurut Lim Kit Siang, beliau rela kerjasama mengenai masalah air, sebab itu kita bercadang bahawa sebelum satu pengundian dibuat dalam peringkat bacaan yang kedua, rang undang-undang ini patutlah dirujuk kepada satu Select Committee supaya masalah-masalah dan kelemahan-kelemahan semua itu boleh diatasi.

"Yang Berhormat Menteri ada pergi ke UK beberapa kali untuk memahami keadaan di sana dan patut mengetahui bahawa sebelum sesuatu keputusan dibuat mengenai sistem air di UK, ada siri consultation papers yang dikeluarkan. Adakah satu consultation paper yang dikeluarkan dalam Malaysia, selama lapan bulan Yang Berhormat sudah menjadi menteri? Mana dia consultation papers, tetapi sudah ada suatu rang undang-undang yang begitu mustahak sudah dibentangkan dalam Parlimen? Di manakah Malaysian Voice itu? Katanya mahu mengikut Voice UK, tetapi mana Voice Malaysia?" hujah Kit Siang.

Berikut ialah memorandum yang dikeluarkan oleh NGO tersebut yang dibacakan oleh Ketua Pembangkang Malaysia:



”We .. are deeply concerned over recent government pronouncements and private sector representatives’ statements that Malaysian water services will be privatized.

We fear that handing over water services “to the private sector” will transform water from a fundamental human right, a common heritage that belongs to all Malaysians into a commodity traded in the open market.

Over the years, privatization exercises in public entities in Malaysia by the government has not lowered costs and increased efficiency as promised but instead has led to burdening consumers with increasing and exorbitant tariffs, be it basic needs such as public transport services, electricity, telephone, sewerage and more recently public health and education.

Privatization of public entities in Malaysia has more often resulted in failure and has in fact affected consumers welfare. Evident cases such as collapse of IWK, LRT-PUTRA and MAS which resulted in government using public monies to bail/buyout these companies before the end of the concession period clearly shows that the concept of privatizing public services is not in the interest of the rakyat. These private companies clearly do not have the capital or the capabilities to sustain their operations, let alone provide qualities services.

Privatization of water services has a potential to subject water resources to private ownership and the implementation of full cost
recovery. We believe that the water privatization would undermine consumers welfare as the main motive of private companies is to fulfill its shareholders’ welfare and profit whilst social obligations to ensure ‘quality and safe water is accessible to all’ becomes an afterthought. This would mean removing subsidies and cross subsidies that will be to the detriment of the poor and other vulnerable communities and consumers.

The provisioning of water in privatized full cost recovery environment is premised on a consumer’s affordability as opposed to the consumer’s need; thereby potentially excluding access to water of those who cannot afford to pay.

Furthermore, in this era of globalization, there is a possibility that water resources of this country could come under the control of foreign corporations. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), currently being negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Malaysia is signatory to, seeks to remove all national protective barriers and makes possible of the foreign acquisition of our water resources, if access to water is no longer provided for by the government as part of the government services. This reality has implications for national security and sovereignty of the nation. In this regard it is important to note that the European Union has requested that the Malaysian Government open up its water resources as part of its GATS obligation.

The Consumers Associations and Community based groups represented here believe that the provisioning of water resources should be in the hands of the state and it is the obligation of the state to ensure water resources are made available based on need and not affordability. The state has a constitutional responsibility to ensure accessibility of water for all Malaysians as a fundamental human right.

Access to water as a fundamental human right is stipulated in the various United Nations Charters and Covenants. Water as a human right is explicitly enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

Access to water is an implicit right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, Article 25 of the Declaration indicates “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing” (UN General Assembly, 1948). Clearly, Articles 25 cannot be satisfied without access to water as an implicit right and the component element. This is because adequate quantity of water of sufficient quality is required to maintain
human health and well being in order to satisfy Articles 25.

The International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights 1966 supports the notion that the right to water is an implicit right. Central to the ICESR is that governments have a legal obligation to ensure that their citizens enjoy the right to water. In November 2002, The United Nations Committee on The Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its General Comment No. 15, indicated that the right to water was a human right and the governments take immediate steps, to realize the right to water.

Clearly governments including the Malaysian Government have a responsibility to respect, fulfill and protect the Right to Water.

We assert that privatization of water is not the only answer to our water woes and crisis because of proper and holistic water management includes prevention of environmental degradation, addressing our dwindling water availability, implementing and enforcing an effective water policy and addressing demand for water while at the same time ensuring the quality, safe and affordable water is accessible to all. We therefore call upon Members of Parliament:

(i) to ensure that quality water remains accessible to all consumers and privatizing water is not the answer to our water woes and crisis irrespective of whether water is managed by the state or the Federal Government;

(ii) to urge the government to embrace and then promote a public partnership and a successful water management specifically will encourage the government to follow the Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang's (PBA’s) successful and profitable experience in water management;

(iii) To ensure increased awareness and education programs for young and adult consumers on water resource preservation and conservation.