SHAH ALAM: Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali has been urged to reveal the formula used by his administration in arriving at its RM2.7 billion offer for Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor’s (Splash) equity.
A group of Umno Youth leaders today also dared Azmin to answer how the latest offer to Splash — which saw a 10-fold increase from RM250.6 million in 2014 — would affect consumers’ water tariff rate.
Umno Youth (Malaysia) exco member Shahril Hamdan said the latest offer by the PKR-led state government would make the total amount in taking over Splash’s equity, assets and liabilities jump to RM5.7b.
This would push further the total amount in Selangor’s takeover exercise of four water concessionaires to about RM13b, from an initial cap of RM9.65b.
“Azmin, when he took over as the MB from Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, had said that the total amount for the whole takeover exercise would remain capped at RM9.65b. Why has he backtracked on his own words?
“If the amount involved remains capped at RM9.65b, they cannot make an offer of RM2.7b for Splash’s equity. “We want Azmin to explain the huge increase in the offer to Splash,” he told a press conference at the Selangor Umno office, here today.
Shahril claimed that Azmin was trying “to do magic” by putting the blame on Khalid by saying that his (Azmin) RM2.7b offer is lesser than Khalid’s administration’s offer of RM2.975b.
He said the final offer made during Khalid’s time was the whole sum for Splash, not only for its equity.
“As the offer has now increased, we also want Azmin to reveal how much this would further affect consumers. The initial capped expenditure for the whole takeover exercise was expected to cause some increases in water tariff, and with the price going up, how much more would the consumers have to pay?
“The MB should also answer – who is going to fund this increased amount to pay to Splash? Is it going to come from the state funds, or they are going to ask for federal government assistance again?”
Selangor Umno Youth chief Zainuri Zainal said they want Azmin to answer the allegation that there is a RM600 million commission for PKR if they seal the deal with Splash.
PJU division Umno Youth chief Mohamad Fakhzan Md Noor said the Selangor state government should reveal the evaluation report on Splash’s value, which Azmin claimed was done by an international body.
He said if such an evaluation had really taken place, the document should be made public.
-New Straits Times
