SEREMBAN: Syarikat Air Negri Sembilan (SAINS) has been urged to waive the January water bill for those affected by the recent floods in the state, says state MCA chairman Siow Koi Voon.

       “We are extremely disappointed that the Mentri Besar has decided against waiving a month’s bill for the flood victims, some of whom lost tens of thousands of ringgit.

       “The floods were a disaster for many and SAINS in our opinion, can do its bit for them,” he said when met at the state MCA office.

       He said the announcement by Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun that SAINS was in no position to do so as the state water concessionaire had also incurred massive losses during the floods was unacceptable.

       Siow said the statement by Aminuddin, who is also SAINS chairman, that each of the affected families would only have to pay between RM20 and RM30 more to clean their homes was also uncalled for.

       He said this was the time for the state government to use whatever means possible to help the victims.

       “They used to boast that the state government had reserves of more than RM1bil. Why can’t the state use these funds to help them now?” he asked.

       Siow said Aminuddin’s justification that the state government had already given RM1,000 in aid each to these victims also did not hold water as these victims need all the help they could get.

       He expressed hope that Aminuddin would reconsider his decision.

       “Now is the right occasion to help these victims. Please show empathy as many people are upset with the decision,” he said.

       On Wednesday, Aminuddin said SAINS would also have to bear high costs of repairs after several of its treatment plants were submerged during the floods.

       SAINS, he said, also had to bring in heavy machinery to clear debris from its plants as well as carry out repair works on other damaged infrastructure.

       It also had to carry out rewiring works at some plants which were completely submerged.

       Supply to several districts was also interrupted as heavy rains also caused landslides and led to the deterioration of raw water quality at some plants.

       The Mentri Besar said this when asked if SAINS would follow in the footsteps of Air Selangor which decided to waive the January bill for households affected by floods in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

       An estimated 5,000 families in the state were affected by the floods.