KOTA BARU: The Federal Government has been sending large allocations to the Kelantan government to address the state's water woes, but those appointed still fail to resolve them, said the Kelantan People's Action Council (MTRK).
MTRK president Aiman Yusri Mohd Yusof said this resulted in Kelantan residents to continue facing the problem for decades.
"Access to clean water supply is a basic need. In Kelantan, many have been complaining about not having treated water," he said, adding that the problem affected those living in towns and rural areas.
"The allocations were given by the federal government to the Kelantan government via Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB) to help the state address the issue but it has yet to be resolved.
"They (AKSB) asked (the public) to pay the high water bills but there is no water supply," he said.
If there was water, Aiman said it would appear rust-coloured.
"The state government, via the AKSB, should find a way to solve this longstanding issue," he said.
He said the alleged poor services provided by the AKSB and other factors might be the reason behind the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) move to investigate the company.
"We want to know what real cause of this problem.
"If there is abuse of power or corruption, the MTRK urges the MACC to take stern action (against those behind it) and bring them to court," he added.
Yesterday, two former senior officers of a Kelantan water company and two owners of a company that acted as consultants for the project were detained by the MACC to assist its investigation into the case.
The four, aged 40 to 60, were arrested in separate locations between 7am and 10am here.
The arrests come after the "New Straits Times" reported on the plight of villagers in Kota Baru, who have been struggling with water supply.
Following the arrests, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that it was investigating projects involving 10 AKSB tube wells that failed to function.
He said the projects, worth some RM300 million, were carried out by the state-owned company between 2008 and 2015.
Azam also confirmed the arrest of four people linked to the construction of the tube wells.
Today, the four were remanded at magistrate court here for three days.