Water restructuring agreement to be inked Friday

KUALA LUMPUR: The water restructuring signing agreement between the Selangor state government and the federal government will be held on Friday.
Deputy Energy, Green Technology, and Water Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim will sign the agreement.
"He is not in a caretaker position and thus it should not affect the signing of the water restructuring agreement between the state and federal governments," he told reporters when approached after launching the Asean Power Week at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.
The water restructuring exercise was cited as one of the reasons why Pakatan Rakyat wanted to replace Khalid with PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as Selangor mentri besar.
Meanwhile, Khalid confirmed that the water restructuring agreement is expected to be completed within this week.
He said the parties involved are still finalising the water "heads of agreement", a long-term solution to resolve the water issue in the state.
"We are still finalising it and our target is between this week and not later than Monday or Tuesday next week," he said.
"However, our target is to finalise the agreement by this week as we are now in the final stage," he told reporters after chairing the state executive council meeting at the state Secretariat Building here.
Khalid said there are a lot of agencies that will be part of the agreement's arrangement such as the National Water Services Commission and Selangor Water Management Authority.
"We are putting everyone in line... Now everything is in an implementation mode, rather than discussion mode," he said.
Asked whether Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor (SPLASH) has agreed to the the terms of the agreement, Khalid said it will be announced when the agreement has been signed.
To date, SPLASH is the only water concessionaire in the state still holding out on the deal.
On the statement by Klang MP Charles Santiago that Khalid should freeze the water agreement as he is regarded as a caretaker mentri besar, he said, Charles did not understand.
"I don't think he understands ... He should be professional and check his facts first before making a statement," he added.
He said Charles should stop pointing fingers on the issue as it does not help in developing the state.