Syabas says its pipes supply is at 'critical stage'

The Star 20/11/2006 By CHELSEA L.Y. NG

KUALA LUMPUR: Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) said its pipes supply is at a “critical stage” and has only enough in storage for two to three weeks.

Syabas’ chief executive officer Roslan Hassan told High Court judge Justice Abdul Wahab Patail that a prolonged injunction stopping it from purchasing new pipes would be damaging to Syabas’ operations.

He said this after Syabas’ counsel Tan Sri Zaki Azmi made submissions on the water management concessionaire’s application to have an ex-parte injunction granted to JAKS-KDEB Consortium Sdn Bhd set aside.

The High Court will decide on Wednesday on Syabas' bid to set aside the injunction.

The injunction is causing hardship to the consumers.

The effect is not so much on Syabas, but more on the public,” said Zaki. (? zaki or roslan)

“People have been calling up complaining about burst pipes but we cannot repair them.”

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

Justice Abdul Wahab is expected to decide on this application tomorrow as well.

JAKS-KDEB’s counsel David Hoh Foo Fah argued yesterday that Puas and Syabas had financial difficulties with both bodies registering current and deferred liabilities of RM1bil each.

“Both the companies have a paid-up capital of RM5mil. It is not possible for them to pay the liabilities,” said Hoh.

JAKS-KDEB is seeking the inter-parte injunction to restrain the concessionaire and its agents from purchasing, obtaining, dealing, negotiating and receiving pipes and fittings in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

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