KOTA KINABALU: A thorough probe is being carried out on contractors said to be profiteering in areas hit by the Sabah water crisis.
State Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said he had received numerous reports of companies making excessive profits, charging up to nearly 10 times the regular rate for water supply in these areas.
"It is not illegal to buy and sell water, especially during emergencies or for the areas with water shortages," said the Deputy Chief Minister III.
"However, (we have learned) that there are those who buy and sell at uncontrolled prices of up to RM14 or RM28 per cubic metre, when the price from the water depot is only RM3 per cubic metre, so we will see how to control this situation," he said.
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However, concrete evidence of this has yet to be compiled and verified, he added.
He said the Water Department is now reducing or cutting down on the sale of water supply to these companies.
"We will... put a stop to it. But give me time," he said here on Wednesday (July 26).
Shahelmey said the ministry has yet to get its Federal special grant of RM320mil, but the state is aggressively pursuing the matter.
He said the state Cabinet will also discuss avenues to tackle the issue.
"We can't wait and see. We need to resolve the water shortage issue quickly," he said, while calling for stricter and more proactive enforcement against water thefts, said to still be happening amid the ongoing supply crisis.
Asked about supply problems in squatter areas, where water theft is also suspected to be taking place, Shahelmey said a prepaid system can be adopted, just like what is being done for power supply in those locations.
On an unrelated matter, he said some 300 families residing in the Tanjung Aru low-cost flats who refuse to move out or find alternative living arrangements are doing so at risk of their own safety.
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He said these flats were already unsafe and needed to be demolished, and the government was concerned for the welfare of its residents.
He said efforts were being made to assist the needy, including the elderly and disabled, to be relocated to people's housing project (PPR) flats in Kibabaig and Tuaran but added that it was challenging to move such a large number.
Earlier this year, Sabah Housing and Urban Development Board chairman Datuk Masiung Banah stressed that residents had to vacate the Tanjung Aru flats owing to structural issues.
He did not, however, indicate what had been planned for the site, which is on prime land close to the beach.
