Syabas allowed to buy new pipes
The Star 23/11/2006 By CHELSEA L.Y. NG

KUALA LUMPUR: Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) has been allowed by the High Court to buy new pipes and fittings for repair and replacement purposes pending the disposal of a legal battle with former supplier, JAKS-KDEB Consortium Sdn Bhd.

Justice Abdul Wahab Patail also ordered that a report be prepared on the exact quantity of pipes and fittings used during the period so that, in the event the supplier won the case, loss of profit could be assessed.

The judge made the two rulings, which were in the interest of the parties and the public, pending a final decision on the merits of the matter.

Syabas’ chief executive officer Roslan Hassan had earlier informed the court that between Monday and yesterday, there had been 80 cases of burst pipes and 969 cases of pipe leaks.

Justice Abdul Wahab had also adjourned, sine die, his decision on three applications made on Monday by the parties, namely Syabas and Perbadanan Urus Air Selangor (Puas), the Selangor government and JAKS-KDEB Consortium, pending a decision on the merits of the case.

Syabas and Puas had applied for an ex-parte injunction granted to JAKS-KDEB Consortium to be set aside. They were represented by Tan Sri Zaki Azmi and Harjinder Kaur.

The interim injunction restrained the concessionaire and its agents from purchasing, obtaining, dealing, negotiating and receiving its requirements for pipes and fittings in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

JAKS-KDEB, which was granted an exclusive 10-year concession from 2001 to supply pipes and fittings to Puas – the then Selangor state government’s water distribution arm before it was taken over by Syabas in a privatisation exercise – had applied for an inter-parte injunction. Its counsel is David Hoh.

Selangor legal adviser Datuk Zauyah Be Loth Khan had applied to have the state government struck out as a defendant.

The court fixed Jan15 for case management. On Monday, Roslan told the court that Syabas had still about two to three weeks’ supply of certain water pipes in its store.

Last week, Syabas had said that it was running out of pipes due to the injunction and could not buy new ones to do repairs in various places like Taman Melawati, where about 3,000 homes have been without water supply since Friday afternoon.