Malaysia enjoys heavy rainfall throughout the year, but water security appears to elude the nation, which has to deal with regular disruptions to water supply and dirty water flowing out of taps. The 18-month-old Anwar government has vowed to resolve the problem.
LANGKAWI , Malaysia – Residents of Wang Tok Rendong village, about half an hour’s drive from posh hotels on the resort island of Langkawi, patiently wait each day for the water truck to rumble up their road.
Langkawi, one of Malaysia’s top tourist destinations and located in Kedah state, has been facing a water crisis in the last two years, according to some residents like Madam Norhasmiza, who says there has been no regular piped water supply for this period. Some residents say water disruptions worsened from January 2024 while officials say such disruptions began only at end-January.
According to the latest figures on Malaysia’s National Water Services Commission website, the water level at the Malut dam was at “danger level” as of June 4, at 28.6 per cent. But the water level at the Padang Saga dam has risen from 34.83 per cent in April to 68.87 per cent. The island’s hotels, though, appear to be mostly unaffected by water shortages. But if they do face problems, they ask for water trucks to come by.
When asked by ST, the Kedah chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels declined to comment beyond confirming that some Langkawi hotels are facing water issues and that Sada provides them with water tankers. Several other Malaysian states, including major population centres in Kelantan, Penang and Sabah, suffer from the lack of water security, which the 18-month-old Anwar government has vowed to overcome.
The lack of water security is caused partly by the way the Malaysian federation is set up: Under the Constitution, the issues of land, water and Islam come under the jurisdiction of the state governments and state rulers, not the federal government. It would help if the state government and the federal government are on better terms. They can sit down to discuss this and find a solution.Nevertheless, federal-state cooperation to resolve water problems has been improving over the last couple of decades, as both sides accept that the federal government has deeper expertise and financial resources to help the states.
The federal agency, Span, is a technical and economic regulatory body formed in 2008 to improve water supply and sewerage services in Peninsular Malaysia and the federal territories of Putrajaya and Labuan.Getting water to taps at homes, in offices and factories involves the development and management of reservoirs, dams and rivers, along with water treatment plants and thousands of kilometres of mostly underground pipes.
While cooperation between federal and state governments has improved, issues remain that affect the water security of Malaysians. Because of the unreliable quality of water that comes through the taps at home, many Malaysians install either outdoor water filters in their gardens or indoor water filters at the kitchen sink. Some landed homes have both types.Research manager Low Kit Wei, 42, from Puchong in Selangor, has an indoor water filter. She feels that tap water is not safe for direct consumption due to impurities. “Occasionally, there is a chemical smell, especially after water disruptions,” she said.
States with a lower collection of revenue may struggle to invest in essential water treatment facilities, leading to higher risks of contamination and lower water quality.NRW refers to treated water piped from a treatment plant that does not reach the consumer. “At the state level, we have a serious problem with non-revenue water. I think Kedah has among the highest NRW,” he said. “For every 100 litres of water you produce, only 50 litres actually get to the people. There is not enough focus on repairing or reducing NRW. I know it’s costly but I think it’s worth it,” he said.
Indeed, Paab chairman Datuk Seri Jaseni Maidinsa said that most NRW problems are due to old asbestos cement pipes. Efforts to address Malaysia’s water loss problem must include upgrading pipelines, improving meters and implementing water management technologies.“These efforts are, I believe, crucial to strengthening water security and ensuring its sustainable management, particularly in vulnerable areas affected by climate variability and lack of infrastructure,” he said.
It also encouraged water supply operators in 11 of the country’s 13 states to provide rebates for lower-income families. Sabah and Sarawak states, which have autonomy over their own water management, including water tariffs, were excluded from the Feb 1 tariff hike. The country would require sizeable infrastructure capital investments to cater for the projected demand, he said.
LANGKAWI WATER WATER TRUCKS WATER PUMPS INTERACTIVE INTERACTIVE GRAPHICS ST DISCOVER
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