Public anger over Selangor Menteri Besar’s wife swimming photos amid water outages, SE Asia News & Top Stories



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KUALA LUMPUR – An Instagram post by Datin Seri Masdiana Muhammad, the wife of Selangor Minister Besar, has been criticized by social media users as deaf.

Screenshots from the post, as reported by The Rakyat Post on Sunday (September 6), showed a photograph of a water tanker parked in front of a home with a hose running through the driveway. Another image, titled “When there is no water,” showed her family swimming in their home pool.

The post comes as millions of residents and businesses in Malaysia’s Klang Valley were left without water as a result of unscheduled water outages. Water supplies were cut off in parts of Selangor and the capital Kuala Lumpur last Thursday after four water treatment plants were shut down due to contamination.

When contacted by The Rakyat Post, Madam Masdiana apologized and promised to help other residents who have not yet received a water supply.

“As a mother, I just wanted to express my gratitude to the Air Selangor front-line staff who have been working hard for the past few days. It was not my intention to brag. As such, I apologize if such actions have created misinterpretations and offended anyone.” he told the news site.

Authorities said the outage was caused by contamination from a factory, and the water supply is expected to be restored only after four days or more, The Star newspaper reported last Friday.

Selangor State and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur are the most densely populated areas in Malaysia, with around seven million people.

Photos on social media showed thousands of people in many areas queuing to fill water tanker buckets and bottles. Bottled drinking water flew off supermarket shelves.

The water authority, Air Selangor, said that the water restoration for Klang Valley users began on Saturday, with full restoration expected only for Wednesday, according to The Rakyat Post.

On Saturday, Malaysian authorities sent four factory managers suspected of being involved in water pollution into pre-trial detention for six days.

Media reports say the vehicle maintenance factory allegedly dumped used motor oil into drains that flow into Sungai Gong, one of the rivers where water is treated and then funneled to homes, industries and offices.

Public anger boiled over after people learned that the same company was fined RM60,000 (S $ 19,700) in March for the same crime.



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