Malaysia, Netherlands to work closely on water management

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will work in close collaboration with the Netherlands on water management in particular through exchange of expertise and technology, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry's secretary-general Datuk Seri Ir Dr Zaini Ujang (pix).
He said currently, cooperation between both countries was only at company level and yesterday marked the first time an official dialogue was held between experts from both governments.
"We will follow through every three months with the Netherlands Embassy in Kuala Lumpur," he told reporters after presenting his welcoming remarks at the Malaysia-Netherlands Water Dialogue, here yesterday.
Also present was the Netherlands Ambassador to Malaysia, Karin Mossenlechner.
In commending the Netherlands for achieving the lowest water consumption per capita in the world, Zaini said among other things, Malaysia was interested to learn on how the country could reduce non-revenue water (NRW).
"In Malaysia the NRW is about 35% while in the Netherlands it is about six percent which is huge considering the initiatives they have taken.
"They keep replacing the old metres, piping systems and other installations an that's what we are trying to do here in Malaysia," he said adding that Malaysia was also keen to learn from the Netherlands on how to effectively manage the sewage treatment plant and to produce energy.
Meanwhile, Mossenlechner said the Netherlands was also interested to have a further discussions with experts from Malaysia to see how both countries could cooperate to ensure everyone could get access to clean water.
"As water is a scarce commodity, we have to be careful with the clean water that is available on this planet. We would like to talk about technological exchanges between our countries and explore further ways of cooperation in our upcoming meetings," she said. — Bernama