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Speech          
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Dewan Rakyat, Monday): The Ministry of Water, Energy and Communications should issue a directive to Syabas to impose an immediate moratorium on water disconnections in the concession area of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya.

Last month, the Coalition Against Water Privatization (CAWP) and MTUC had spoken up because they are appalled at the high levels of water supply disconnection in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya since water privatization in the last two years.

They had consistently argued that organizing water for profits would lead to high levels of disconnections, a notion that violates peoples' rights and access to clean water. Poor and vulnerable communities might be at risk.

CAWP and MTUC have been proven right and the Ministry should instruct Syabas to develop a humane way of collecting water bills, one where peoples' right to clean water is not violated.

In April 2007, the Minster for Water, Energy and Communications informed Parliament that there were a total of 364,200 disconnections in the concession area, namely Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. It involved 257, 436 home disconnections; 106,100 industrial consumers; and 664 miscellaneous. The revenue from reconnection at RM 50 per reconnection fee is about RM 18.2 million in the last two years. Between January 2007 – September 2007 there were about 136,000 disconnections given that there were approximately 506 disconnections per day in the previous two years. The revenue from disconnections fees for nine months in 2007 is about RM 6.83 million.

In total since privatization there has been a total 500,820 disconnections with revenue to Syabas at RM 25.04 million. More than 50 percent of all connections in the concession area have been disconnected.

The high number of disconnections demonstrates that Syabas is more interested in making money as opposed to inculcating financial discipline among water consumers in the concession area. Revenue from disconnections appears to be overwhelming.

Syabas had been busy disconnecting water even in the holy month of Ramadan. On one side, Syabas had been organizing buka puasa events and giving alms to the poor and orphaned children and on the other has been busy disconnecting water in homes including Muslim households. This is hypocritical.
Water disconnections during national holidays and religious festivities in a plural society like Malaysia are highly insensitive and the private concessionaire should show greater corporate social responsibilities and respectful of the sensitivities of multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia where the great religions of the world meet in confluence.

The Water, Energy and Communications Ministry or SPAN should requests Syabas to impose an immediate moratorium on all water disconnections during festival periods such as Hari Raya and Deepavali as well as institute an immediate investigation on Syabas on-going disconnection exercise, to find out the reasons for the high disconnections in the concession area; and to instruct Syabas to develop a more humane approach in collecting bills without penalizing the poor who already suffer from inadequate funds and families in high rise buildings. This should be done in consultation with other stakeholders.

Finally, the regulator (Jabatan Kawalselia) should explain the basis of imposing RM 50 for reconnecting water.

1) Penipuan melalui kandungan SMS

Saya merujuk kepada kenyataan Menteri Tenaga, Air dan Komunikasi bertarikh 5 September 2007 di mana menteri berkenaan menyebut hanya terdapat 23 kes daripada 176 aduan orang awam yang telah melanggar Garispanduan industri pembekalan kandungan SMS, dan hanya 9 syarikat pembekal kanduangan SMS tersebut dikenakan penalti secara pembayaran kompaun.

Dalam pada itu, menteri berkenaan juga berkata semua syarikat telekom selular telah diarah untuk melaksanakan satu ‘Preventive System’ untuk menbanteras kejadian penipuan yang seumpamanya – dan tarikh penamatnya (deadline) ialah 30 September.

The New Sunday Times bertarikh 4 November telah melaporkan bahawa sebanyak 712,676 pengguna telefon bimbit telah menjadi mangsa penipuan SMS sejak Januari 2006, melibatkan duit aniaya sebanyak RM 377,411.60.

Kami perolehi maklumat dari sumber industri bahawa sebilangan daripada syarikat pembekal kandungan SMS yang dikenakan kompaun masih belum menjelaskan kompaun mereka setelah melebihi tiga bulan.

Malahan, kita juga diberitahu oleh sumber industri bahawa salah satu syarikat pembekal kandungan SMS yang berkali-kali melanggar Garispanduan industri – iaitu Macro Kiosk Bhd – telah dilantik oleh two syarikat telekomunikasi selular menerusi sebuah anak syarikat yang bernama Toprole Network Sdn Bhd, sebagai pembekal dan pengendali “Preventive System” yang Menteri berkenaan telah janjikan.

Bukankah ini satu kompromi dan konspirasi yang bertentangan dengan hasrat “Good Corporate Governance”?

Kenapa sebuah syarikat pihak ketiga yang berkali-kali melanggar tata-tertib industri di beri kepercayaan untuk mengendalikan Preventive System yang melibatkan seluruh industri pembekal kandungan SMS?

Kenapa pula pihak SKMM (MCMC) tidak mengambil tindakan lebih ketat untuk membanteras syarikat-syarikat yang dikenakan kompaun dan berdegil tidak menjelaskan kompaun tersebut buat selama ini?

Adakah menteri berkenaan betul-betul taat kepada pegangan Perdana Menteri supaya sentiasa telus?

Adakah menteri berkenaan berani mengharamkan sama sekali industri Pembekalan Kandungan SMS ini samanya sekali jika (1) Preventive System tersebut terus diberi kapada syarikat yang melanggar tata-tertib kementerian tersebut; dan (2) pihak SKMM tidak berupaya mengutik kompaunnya sendiri?

Apa maksudnya perlinduangan pengguna jika penipuan sebegini terus bermaharajalela dan perosak-perosaknya dimanjakan begitu sahaja?

2) WMax, 3G dan Jalur Lebar

Pada 16 Mac, 2007, dengan persetujuan menteri Tenaga, Air dan Komunikasi, SKMM telah memberikan spectrum 2.3Ghz kepada 4 syarikat pilihan untuk dimulakan perkhidmatan WiMAX, iaitu:

1) Bizsurf (M) Sdn Bhd,
2) MIB Comm Sdn Bhd,
3) Redtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd
4) Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd.

Kini, lapan bulan sudah berlalu, tetapi keempat-empat syarikat tersebut masih belum memulakan perkhidmatan WiMAX yang dijanjikan. Habuk pun tak ada!

Bukan itu sahaja. Sebelum itu, di bulan Mac 2006, two lesen tambahan bagi perkhidmatan 3G telah diberikan kepada MiTV dan Time Dotcom, sebuah GLC. Tetapi, sehingga sekarang, kedua-dua syarikat masih lagi belum mula membekalkan perkhidmatan 3G yang dijanjikan.

Bukan terdapat syarat-syarat tertentu mengikatkan syarikat tersebut kepada jadual pelancarannya?

Apa gunanya Menteri tersebut melafaz mengenai perkembangan jalur lebar, tetapi kesemunya tidak menjadi kenyataan?

Ataupun kesemua ini hanya konspirasi Kementerian tersebut untuk melanjutkan “rent-seeking” dalam alam komunikasi dan teknologi -- di mana spectrum microwave juga diguna sebagai simpanan tanah rizeab bagi kuncu-kuncu kerajaan barisan Nasional?
 

(26/11/2007)