IPOH: There will be no water tariff increase in Perak as reported by some irresponsible quarters, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said.
Zambry said some quarters have mistakenly thought that the high profit of the Perak Water Board (LAP) received annually, was due to an increase in water tariff.
“I know that there is an announcement on Facebook saying that we can be proud of what we have achieved to the extent that the people have to suffer. But we never raised the water tariff. We are one of the states that does not raise the water tariff annually.
“The last time we increased the water tariff was in 2006. Up until now, we have no intention of increasing it. The high profit is derived from the way LAP staff and team handle and manage water,” he added.
Zambry told reporters this after chairing a meeting with the board at the LAP office here today. Also present were LAP director Datuk Ir Mohd Yusof Mohd Isa and state Public Utilities, Infrastructure, Energy and Water Committee chairman, Datuk Zainol Fadzi Paharudin.
“LAP is continually managing the water resource efficiently. If someone says that we are enjoying the revenue while the people here are suffering, that is not true.
“LAP is always helping the people through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes where half of the profit will be given back to the rakyat for instance through tithes, donations and water subsidies for poor people,” he said.
Zambry added that LAP has recorded an increase of RM91.67 million in pre-tax profit last year compared to RM90.84 million in 2016, an increase of 0.9 percent.
“It is another good performance and another positive sign of progression over the years,” he said adding that LAP sold RM335.04 million worth of water last year compared to RM336.16 million in 2016.