DAIM: SUPPORT FOR SELANGOR HAS WATERED DOWN

Tun Daim Zainuddin has predicted the handling of the water issue in Selangor by the PKR-led government which has dismayed developers, investors and the people, and diluted support for the state government.

Daim who famously predicted that BN would lose five states in the 2008 elections, said that BN will win comfortably in the upcoming GE-13 while at the same time noting the failures and idiosyncrasies of the various opposition party components.

More than 100 companies which provide about 25,000 jobs have been forced to withdraw from investing in Selangor because of the water supply crisis.

The federal government is now worried that there could be a repeat of the massive water shortage that affected some 500,000 people in the Klang Valley at the start of the year.

“Of course, they (Selangor state government) will blame everything on the Federal Government despite the fact the Langat 2 water project was planned before they came to power in the state,” he said.

Daim also played down the prospects of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim being made prime minister.

“So far, there has not been even one significant idea from Anwar as the economic adviser to the Selangor government.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, Datuk Seri Noh Omar said that the Selangor state government’s refusal to proceed with the Langat 2 water treatment plant is an abuse of power.

As a result, the water shortage in Selangor will affect the state’s development. Currently, Selangor is faced with water shortage in any parts of the state and the water shortage has resulted in the shelving of 440 projects and the potential loss of tens of thousands of jobs.