Perak agrees to supply water to Penang

The Perak government will likely tap water from Sungai Perak which will be sent to Penang through the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park. (PBApic)

GEORGE TOWN: The Perak government has agreed to supply water to Penang through the yet-to-be-built Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said this was agreed upon by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, and menteri besar Saarani Mohamad.

He did not say if the water would be in raw form, as per the convention of inter-state water transfers, or the sale of treated water, which Perak has been keen to supply to Penang over the years.

Anwar said the agreement bodes well for Kerian, which is set to host the large-scale green industrial park. He said water is important as international investors are looking to invest in renewable energy.

“This water would immensely benefit the people in Seberang Perai, especially those in Nibong Tebal and my birth town, Sungai Bakap,” he said when opening Program Madani Rakyat at the Pesta site in Sungai Nibong, near here, today.

Penang and Perak have previously held a few rounds of talks, but they resulted in a stalemate as Perak insisted that it needed water for its own population.

Previous Perak governments had offered to sell treated water, which was refused by Penang.

In the past, Penang had proposed a RM2 billion water transfer project from Sungai Perak to Sungai Kerian to meet high water demand in Penang, but it never materialised.

Perak water is important to Penang because Sungai Muda, the river supplying 80% of Penang’s water, is expected to dry up by 2030.

Penang viewed Sungai Perak, the second-longest river on the peninsula, as not fully tapped and flowed “wastefully” into the Melaka Strait.

Penang contends that up to 2 billion litres a day could be tapped if a transfer scheme was allowed.

Previously, the past Perak government under the Zambry Abdul Kadir agreed to send Penang water, but in the treated form at 70 sen/1,000 litres.

The offer was refused by Penang, on the grounds that it was too expensive and defied federal convention that only raw water can be sold between states.

Saarani was initially against sending raw water to Penang and, at one point, claimed it could not be done because Perak had to cater to local demands.

His view was dismissed by the National Water Services Commission, which said Sungai Perak had indeed water in excess for both states.

In more recent times, Perak had agreed in principle to supply water to Penang, but again in the form of treated water from Lembaga Air Perak.