Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal (left) and Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor is finding scapegoats for the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government’s failure to resolve the state's water woes, says opposition Parti Warisan president Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal.
The state opposition leader commented a day after Hajiji blamed the Warisan Plus government for worsening Sabah's water woes by terminating contractors managing water treatment plants in 2018.
Shafie explained that the Warisan Plus administration ended the contracts of the six companies managing 58 water treatment plants because the deals were heavily lopsided.
"These contracts were a major part of Sabah’s notorious 'watergate' scandal, which unfolded under the Sabah Barisan Nasional government led by Tan Sri Musa Aman," he said in a statement responding to Hajiji's accusation.
He said the decision to terminate the contracts was made to address the inequitable terms and enhance water management across the state.
After the termination, the operations and maintenance of the plants were taken over by the Sabah Water Department, he said, defending the action of the Warisan Plus government (2018-2020) to terminate the contracts in 2018.
The six companies, originally appointed in 2013, were responsible for maintaining 58 water treatment plants under a 20-year contract. For their services, they were paid RM15.5mil monthly, Shafie said.
"The termination of the contract saved the Sabah government RM12mil each month or RM144mil per year. The 1,335 employees of these companies were absorbed into the Water Department.
"The move was a cost-saving effort, and even though the government paid RM315mil in compensation, it still saved RM685mil from the 20-year contract," Shafie added.
He pointed out that Hajiji was also a minister in Musa's cabinet, which was embroiled in one of Malaysia’s largest graft investigations involving the Sabah Water Department.
Shafie said that Hajiji and the GRS government appointed a water department director even after he testified in court that he had received RM1.6mil during the ongoing graft trial involving the former Sabah Water Department director and two others, including his wife.
Shafie criticised the GRS government for making little progress in the last four years to address issues within the Water Department, despite MACC investigations revealing the seizure of more than RM100mil in cash and assets, as reported by the media.
"There were no significant water issues in Sabah following the termination of the contractors in 2018. The water crisis only began after GRS assumed control of the state government in late 2020," he said.
Since then, Shafie said consumers have experienced issues like salty water in Sandakan, no water supply at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), private companies selling water, and frequent disruptions, all severely affecting the daily lives of people and businesses.
"The current government should focus on finding solutions rather than attributing blame. Sabah’s water crisis is a long-standing issue, rooted in decades of mismanagement, deteriorating infrastructure, and lack of proper investment," he said.
He accused the problem of worsening during the four years of GRS rule, arguing that Hajiji's attempt to blame Warisan was a clear attempt to cover up GRS's shortcomings and failures.
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