GEORGE TOWN – Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has challenged the Kedah government to take it to court if it is serious about demanding payment for raw water drawn from Sg Muda which runs through both states.
Reiterating Penang’s refusal to accede to Kedah’s repeated demands for payment, Chow said the PAS-led state should initiate legal action if it was serious.
“I have stated Penang’s stance on the same matter several times, and I have always told Kedah that if (it) is serious on this matter, it should begin initiating a claim through the courts so that the court can decide on it,” Chow told a press conference in Komtar, here, today.
The law is clear, he added, that Penang can draw raw water from Sg Muda from within its borders.
The river originates in Kedah and Penang taps water from it on its side of the border to treat and supply to 85% of its population.
Although Kedah officials have raised the issue of payment for raw water several times since 2010, the northern state has never once issued a legal challenge to Penang, Chow said.
“There were only speeches..merely a ploy to gain political mileage,” he added.
Chow was responding to the latest demand, made by Kedah’s Public Works, Natural Resources, Water Sources, and Environment exco, Mohamad Yusoff @ Munir Zakaria, who said the Kedah government would continue pressing Penang to pay raw water charges.
Yusoff was reported repeating the demand at the Kedah state assembly recently, urging Penang to make payment immediately.
Chow has been defiant in rejecting its neighbour’s demand to pay for raw water abstracted from the Muda river when asked several times by the Kedah government in the past, especially by his counterpart Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.
In Penang DAP elections, Chow, who is the party’s state chief, said he will know “in a day or two” if he is nominated by branches to defend his position.
State party elections will be held on September 22. Nominations ended on August 24, and nominees have two weeks to accept or reject their nomination.
Chow today said he had yet to receive the nomination list.
‘’Once I have received it, I will consider and then make the right decision,” added Chow, when asked whether he would run to defend his state chief position.
On August 19, Chow said he was unsure if he would be able to defend his position as state party chief.
According to party rules, candidates must be nominated by at least two branches to be eligible to contest.
Chow’s position as Penang DAP chief has recently been a subject of speculation, following reports that he might not be nominated to defend the position.
It has traditionally been the case that the Penang DAP chief also serves as the state chief minister. However, Chow’s predecessor Lim Guan Eng did not hold the position when he served as the chief minister from 2008 until 2018. – August 26, 2024