Azmin: S'gor won't give land to Putrajaya for free 
MalaysiaKini.com
Mar 10, 2015     
By Ram Anand 

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali today said his administration chose not to extend the water agreement with the federal government in order to prevent surrendering the state's "sovereignty" to Putrajaya.

Azmin said that the federal government had gone against the spirit of the master agreement signed in September last year by asking "for land for free" from the state government.

In a press conference today, Azmin said that the federal government had asked the state to hand over land on which 26,000km of pipes were laid. The state had only agreed to hand over the upgraded assets.

"Do we want to lose our sovereignty? We will concede land just like that to the federal government," Azmin said, expressing confidence that the people of Selangor would support his administration's move.

Still space for discussion

Azmin said that according to the master agreement signed last September, the federal government only mentioned about taking over the assets and not the land.
 
"But now they are requesting for the land, which goes against the spirit of the agreement that was signed on," Azmin said.
 
However, Azmin said that the space "remains open" for the federal government and state government to discuss new terms for the water deal.
 
"The water industry in Selangor is still fragmented and needs to be consolidated," he said.
 
However, should the deal permanently collapse, Azmin said that the state has contingency plans to ensure there is enough water supply for the next two years.
 
Meanwhile, PAS' Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad opined that the federal government is trying to create a water crisis in Selangor so that it can subsequently blame it on the Pakatan state government.
  
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