A Sabah Umno leader has labelled former chief minister Shafie Apdal as the “architect” of the state’s water crisis, blaming this on his administration’s decision in 2019 to prematurely terminate utility concession contracts.
Sabah Umno information chief Suhaimi Nasir said Shafie’s move, made without a clear replacement plan, had left the state government saddled with RM315 million in compensation payments.
The Libaran MP claimed the decision had directly impacted the people, who now had to queue with pails and buckets to receive water aid.
“The root cause of this suffering? Shafie’s hasty decision in 2019 to terminate six water concessionaires managing 58 treatment plants across Sabah.
“As a result, the state had to pay RM315 million in compensation to the companies.
“Was this the decision of a wise leader, or just a political move that ended up strangling the people?” he said in a statement.
Shafie had, in September last year, defended the decision, deeming the concession agreements as being unfair.
He argued the move would save RM685 million over a 20-year period, despite the RM315 million payout.
Suhaimi urged the state government to clarify whether the compensation had been fully settled and whether Hajiji Noor’s administration was still dealing with the fallout from Shafie’s decision.
“If ending the concessions was truly about savings, why are people still forced to collect rainwater, store water in blue barrels and buy water from tankers every week? Is this Shafie’s definition of ‘savings’?
“Even worse, the non-revenue water rate remains above 50%, meaning half of the clean water is unaccounted for, while the people wait in line with buckets in hand,” he said.
Suhaimi said Shafie’s political rhetoric cannot erase the fact that he cancelled critical water projects.
“History will record Shafie as the main cause of Sabah’s water crisis, not as the saviour,” he said.
