PETALING JAYA: Families with eight or more members will receive a 60% discount on the water conversation surcharge (WCS) beginning next month to lessen people’s burden on the impending tariff increase, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.
Lim said consumers were concerned over the water tariff increase and this move would lessen the impact on large families.
“I will propose to the Penang Water Supply Corporation to give a 60% discount on the WCS for families with eight or more family members beginning May 1,” he said.
He added that the families would need to go to corporation and produce the identification cards of those staying in their homes to qualify for the discounts.
The state government introduced a 24 sen per 1,000 litres WCS for consumers using in excess of 35,000 litres per month in 2010.
Last year, it increased the WCS rate by 100% to 48 sen per 1,000 litres.
The chief minister said the move was to curb the state’s water usage which was 50% higher than the national average.
“The public must be made aware of the possibility of water rationing caused by the drought.
“It is shocking that the Perak state government have decided to impose water rationing in Taiping, the wettest town in Peninsular Malaysia,” he said.
Lim, who is also the water corporation chairman, said the last tariff increase was done 23 years ago.
The water tariff in Penang is RM0.31 per litre for the first 35,000 litres, which is cheaper than the national average of RM0.66.
Even after the increase, Lim said the tariff would still be the cheapest in the country.
He criticised the mainstream media for giving unfair coverage of the impending water tariff increase.
“I am not surprised that the mainstream media has politicised the issue instead of focusing on reducing water consumption to avoid rationing in future.
Meanwhile, Penang Gerakan secretary Oh Tong Keong said Lim should inform the people whether the tariff increase was due to poor management and to increase payment to the corporation’s board of directors.
“Is the corporation poorly managed and facing financial problems?” asked Oh.
He said Lim as a former accountant should ensure that the corporation was prudent and cost-effective.
He added that Lim in his New Year message announced that quit rent, water tariff, assessment or business licence would not be increased this year and next year
Oh said the water tariff increase would definitely affect the livelihood of hawkers.
