KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah has been proposed to formulate an enactment to regulate the water supply services industry in the state and ensure separation between its regulatory and operational functions.
Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (pix) said it was also to enable the establishment of a regulatory body that can help ensure the water services industry in Sabah could operate more effectively.
“At the Federal level, the Water Services Industry Act and the National Water Services Commission Act have been enacted to regulate the water supply services industry in the peninsula and Labuan.
“However, these two acts are not applicable to Sabah,” he said in reply to a question from Datuk Seri Madius Tangau (UPKO-Tuaran) on the federal government’s efforts to address water supply issue in Sabah during the Ministers’ Question Time session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Tuan Ibrahim said the federal government through the Water and Environment Ministry (Kasa) is responsible for providing loan financing for the implementation of water supply projects in urban areas in Sabah.
He said a total of RM2.5 billion in loans had been approved since the Eighth Malaysia Plan until the 10th Malaysia Plan, in addition to RM2.2 billion under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“Allocation in the form of grants were also given through the Rural Development Ministry for rural water supply projects,” he added.
