Kuala Lumpur: The Cabinet has approved an additional allocation of RM100 million to resolve water supply issues in Sabah, says deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah, the minister in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs, said the Cabinet previously approved a RM300 million grant to help Sabah tackle the issue.
“It is with pleasure that I announce the economy ministry has approved (the additional RM100 million),” he said in response to questions from Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) and Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Bung and Isnaraissah had asked Fadillah about the federal government’s solution to the water supply issue in Sabah.
The deputy prime minister said four new projects worth RM200 million had been approved under the 12th Malaysia Plan’s fourth rolling plan, which would serve as stop-gap measures for the issue.
He said one of the challenges in resolving the matter was the relatively high non-revenue water (NRW) rate, which exceeds 50% of water used.
NRW refers to water lost before it reaches the consumer which is not billed and leads to financial losses.
Fadillah said the priority for Putrajaya was to replace old pipes, which would be funded by grants and implemented together with Sabah.
“This is expected to reduce NRW, but at the same time, Sabah itself must take action to reduce NRW, especially water that is stolen from Sabah’s own water supply sources.”
