Left high and dry
11/06/2008 NST By Nuradzimmah Daim

A Syabas worker shutting off the main pipe to the Desa View Tower apartments on Monday.

Syabas cuts off water supply in dispute over arrears

GOMBAK: The patience of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) with some 1,000 residents of Desa View Tower has dried up.

The utility company, on Monday, duly cut off water supply to the residents after they run up arrears of RM380,884.44 in water bills.

When the Syabas team from Gombak district went to the apartments to disconnect water supply, not one resident or official of the apartments’ management was around.

But the residents, from 341 units in two blocks, claimed it was not fair for Syabas to pull the plug on them.

Many claimed that they had been paying diligently to the apartment’s management but it was the latter who did not settle the bills with Syabas.

Beryl Lee, 67, who said she was not informed by Syabas of the move to disconnect water supply, took the apartments’ management to task for her woes.

She said her water bill did not exceed RM20 monthly, and she has been paying promptly to the apartments’ management.

“But I know some of the residents have not paid their bills as they are unhappy with the apartments’ maintenance by the management, especially the lifts and the swimming pool,” said Lee.

“For now, we will have to depend on water from our tanks. I don’t know what will happen when we run out of water,” said Lee. Syabas corporate communications and public relations general manager Abdul Halem Mat Som said the management of Desa View Tower had been given ample time to settle their arrears in installments.

“We last issued the management of the apartments with a notice on April 21. Their last payment was RM1,587.87, which was paid on April 3,” he said.

Abdul Halem said Syabas took action against residents of the apartments after all means were exhausted to collect the arrears.

He said the water supply would only be reconnected after the apartments’ management has settled the arrears.

“The matter is now being handled by our legal department which will liaise with liquidator HLB Ler Lum which has been appointed by the court,” he added.

Attempts to get comments from the apartments’ management yesterday were unsuccessful.