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GEORGE TOWN: Penang has dropped Kedah menteri besar’s claim of RM50 million a year as compensation for drawing water from Sungai Muda, a river that flows from the interior of eastern Kedah and empties into the Penang Territory in the west.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said he had received demand letters from the Kedah government, but said that Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor should seek compensation from Putrajaya, as raw water issues were under the federal government.
Chow also said that Penang will continue to draw water from its Sungai Muda side, as international conventions allow it to do so.
Sanusi had made the demand for RM 50 million after claiming that Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBA) has been making a profit by drawing water from the river, asking the company to pay 10 sen per cubic meter.
PBA said it did not owe anyone any money as it was taking water from the Penang river side near Butterworth.
However, Chow, who is the president of the PBA, said at a press conference: “We will support Kedah in his efforts to claim compensation arising from the cancellation of the logging licenses in the water catchment area in the reserve. Ulu Muda forest “.
Yesterday, Sanusi said he was upset with Penang’s barrage of negative comments about its planned RM62 billion rare earth element project, which included the Ulu Muda forest reserve and two other rural areas, and said the state should deal with their own affairs.
He criticized the PBA for making trips to the forest reserve repeatedly, saying it was encroaching on the “sovereignty of Kedah.”
In response, Chow said that Sanusi’s statement was irresponsible, as Malaysians are allowed to cross into any part of the states, whether by land or water.
“If that’s the case, are you saying that I can stop MB on its way to Kuala Lumpur if it enters Penang territory?” I ask.
