Syabas ironing out water rates kinks

The Star 2/11/2006

PETALING JAYA: Syabas is finalising guidelines that would enable those living in high-rise residential units and government quarters and estates to enjoy lower water tariffs.

Syabas' proposal that was approved recently by the Government will allow this group of consumers, who mainly get their supply through bulk meters registered to the management companies, estate owners or government agencies, to apply for individual meters.

The proposal will affect three categories of consumers – those living in apartments or condominiums, low-cost flats or apartments and estate, armed forces or government quarters.

The rates charged are RM1.38 per cubic metre for apartments and condominiums, 80 sen per cubic metre for low-cost flats or apartments and RM1 per cubic metre for estate, armed forces and government quarters. Domestic users only pay 57 sen for the first 20 cubic metres of water they use.

Resident S. David of Kota Perdana Apartments in Puchong near here said those living in apartments would now have to pay RM1.38 per cubic metre while even those living in more expensive houses would only pay 57 sen for the first 20 cubic metres of water they used.

He said many of his neighbours were now wondering if they would be forced to fork out several hundred ringgit for the new meters.

He said such payments might cause some of the apartment owners to back-out of the plan to have individual meters fixed while Syabas wanted all the owners to agree to the move before the change could be made.

Seri Kembangan state assemblyman Datuk Liew Yuen Keong also voiced his concern over the maintenance of facilities at the apartments or condominiums as the management companies might argue that they would no longer manage them once Syabas installed its own meters.

“Many high-rise apartments and condominiums have tanks on the ground floor where water is stored before it is pumped to the tank on the roof and all these are now maintained by the management companies,” he said.

He said there might be problems on deciding who should pay for costly repairs or replacement of pumps and also the electricity bills once the takeover was completed.

Syabas has claimed that it is in the process of finalising the guidelines together with the Selangor government and the full details could only be explained once they were completed.

Its executive chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail said in a press statement that the change to individual meters would also help high-rise dwellers who had faced serious problems when their supply was cut due to the management company's failure to settle their bills.