IN just a couple of months, we’ve seen a second major water disruption in Selangor.

The first lasted nearly three weeks in some places. The current cut has gone on for several days in some areas, with a complete restoration promised by Saturday morning, making it about a week since the disruption began. That’s a month’s disruption in some Selangor areas.

As the country’s most developed state, this is unacceptable.

Water is undeniably our most important resource, critical for life itself. The lack of water has far worse economic consequences than a power outage or the internet going offline. Water cuts affect almost every industry – food and beverage, manufacturing and cleaning services, to name a few – and daily activities, such as washing up and cooking. And for many, praying.

The root cause of the first disruption was poor management of a highway project that set off a chain of events, prolonging the cut.

The second, we are told, was caused by a diesel spill in Sg Selangor. That a state government-owned company is implicated makes it worse, and doubly worse, the suspicion that sabotage was involved.

This is unacceptable, and action needs to be taken against those who abuse the public’s trust in them to manage the environment. Heads must roll, not only those of the perpetrators directly responsible, but also of any department officers found to be corrupt, negligent or inept.

National Water Services Commission chairman Charles Anthony Santiago’s no-nonsense warning to Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd was a much-welcome seriousness, as was Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar’s promise to thoroughly investigate alleged wrongdoings by the above-mentioned state-owned company.

If present laws are lax, they should be tightened. The proposal by Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin for the Environmental Quality Act 1974 to be amended to allow for stiffer penalties should be prioritised and gazetted as soon as possible. Apart from introducing jail terms and higher fines, perhaps, the government could consider revoking the business licences of irresponsible companies.

The provision to recover clean-up costs from such firms could be changed so that the amount is several times the actual costs. Unscrupulous companies not only need to suffer sanctions, but be made to be proportionally liable for losses incurred by the affected parties. They should also be held responsible for the actions of their employees, and those of third-party contractors, too.

Whistle-blowers, meanwhile, should not only be rewarded by the proposed Tabung Alam Sekitar, but their identities must be protected as well.

Apart from holding people accountable, and tightening and enforcing the law, monitoring should be stepped up. The recent pollution cases in Klang’s Taman Eng Ann, Sg Klang, Sg Selangor and Johor’s Sg Kim Kim, which was hit twice, should be reason enough for this.

Such monitoring should involve not only federal ministries, but also state agencies and local councils, and even civil society groups. The protection of rivers should be streamlined, with local agencies and organisations that know an area best put in charge, and federal and state outfits playing a supporting role, for example, providing funds and training.

And, roping in the armed forces or police to patrol these areas or conduct random checks may prove helpful.

The topic of river conservation may not be as “sexy” as the economy or foreign relations, but it has a direct impact on many other areas. We need to prioritise it for everything else to flow well. – July 24, 2019.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.