DAP supports MB Azmin Ali’s call for the declassification of the Selangor Water Restructuring Agreement that was signed between Khalid Ibrahim and the federal government.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua has asked why the copy of the agreement was not available to the new state administration under Mohamed Azmin Ali after he took over from Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor Menteri Besar.

“The question is whether the former Menteri Besar had not only packed his bags of his personal belongings from his office, he also mistakenly packed the mysterious water agreement with him as well such that even the State Secretary do not seem to have a copy,” he quipped.

According to Pua, Khalid Ibrahim had somewhat hurriedly signed the agreement on 12 September 2014 despite losing the confidence of the state assembly and tendering his resignation to the Selangor Sultan.

Via the agreement, the Selangor state would acquire water concessionaires proceed with the construction of the Langat 2 water treatment plant.

“The speed at which the mysterious agreement was concluded raises strong concerns that the state may have been shortchanged,” said Pua.

Although DAP had fully supported the Selangor Water Industry restructuring, Tony Pua believes that the “devils are in the details” of the deal and the burden of the consumers in the state would be heavily dependent on the exact terms agreed.

Azmin Ali’s move to scrutinize the details outlined by the previous MB and the federal government was denied as the documents have been kept hidden and classified under the Official Secrets Act; an act that Pua criticized as being draconian.

PKR legal expert Derek Fernandez said that under the Contracts Acts, the agreement could be treated as void if its terms were unfair or if it contained illegalities.

The Act is intended to make private the documents and agreements in the interest of national security, therefore preventing public viewing of its contents. However, Tony Pua expressed that since the water restructuring exercise does not pose any threat to national security, the federal government should act responsibly and transparently with full disclosure of the deal made between Khalid and the federal government. -The Rocket