ON

CONCERNS THAT
PRIVATISATION OF WATER SERVICES
IN MALAYSIA THREATENS A
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT OF
ACCESS TO WATER

ON 17TH JANUARY 2005
at Parliament

“ACCESS TO WATER IS A
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT”

We, the following consumer groups, trade union and community based organizations are deeply concerned over recent government pronouncements and private sector representatives’ statements that Malaysian water services are to be privatized. We fear that handing over water services to the private sector will transform water from a fundamental human right, a common heritage that belongs to all Malaysians into a commodity traded in the market.

Over the years, privatization exercises on public entities in Malaysia by the government has not lowered costs and increased efficiency as promised but instead has led to burdening consumers with increasing and exorbitant tariffs , be it basic needs such as public transport services, electricity, telephone, sewerage and more recently public health and education.

Privatization of public entities in Malaysia has more often resulted in failure and has in fact affected consumers’ welfare. Evident cases such as the collapse of IWK, LRT-PUTRA, MAS which resulted in government using public monies to bail / buyout these companies before the end of the concession period clearly shows that the concept of privatizing public services is NOT in the interest of the rakyat. These private companies clearly do not have the capital or the capabilities to sustain their operations , let alone provide quality services.

Privatization of water services has the potential to subject water resources to private ownership and the implementation of full cost recovery. We believe that the water privatization would undermine consumers welfare as the main motive of private companies is to fulfill its shareholders welfare and profit whilst social obligations to ensure ‘quality and safe water is accessible to all’ becomes an afterthought. This would mean removing subsidies and cross subsidies that will be to the detriment of the poor and other vulnerable communities/consumers. The provisioning of water in a privatized full cost recovery environment is premised on a consumer’s affordability as opposed to the consumer’s need ; thereby potentially excluding access to water of those who cannot afford to pay.

Furthermore, in this era of globalization, there is a possibility that water resource of this country could come under the control of foreign corporations. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), currently being negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Malaysia is signatory to, seeks to remove all national protective barriers and makes possible of the foreign acquisition of our water resources, if access to water is no longer provided for by the government as part of government services. This reality has implications for national security and sovereignty of the nation. In this regard it is important to note that the European Union has requested that the Malaysian government open up its water resources as part of its GATS obligation.

The consumer associations and community based groups represented here believe that the provisioning of water resources should be in the hands of the state and it is the obligation of the state to ensure water resources are made available based on need and not affordability. The state has a constitutional responsibility to ensure accessibility of water for all Malaysians as a fundamental human right.

Access to water as a fundamental human right is stipulated in the various United Nations Charters and Covenants. Water as a human right is explicitly enshrined in the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989 ). Access to water is an implicit right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) . Article 25 of the Declaration indicates “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing…housing (UN General Assembly, 1948). Clearly, Article 25 cannot be satisfied without access to water as an implicit right and a component element. This is because adequate quantity of water of sufficient quality is required to maintain human health and well being in order to satisfy Article 25.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR) 1966 supports the notion that the right to water as an implicit right. Central to the ICESR is that governments have a legal obligation to ensure that their citizens enjoy the right to water.

In November 2002 the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its General Comment No. 15 indicated that the right to water was a human right and that governments take immediate steps, to realize the right to water. Clearly, governments including the Malaysian government have a responsibility to respect, fulfill and protect the Right to Water.

We assert that privatization of water is NOT the only answer to our water woes and crisis because a proper and wholistic water management includes prevention of environment degradation, addressing our dwindling water availability, implementing and enforcing an effective water policy and addressing the demand for water while at the same time ensuring quality, safe and affordable water is accessible to all.

We therefore call upon Members of Parliament:

· To ensure that quality water remains accessible to all consumers and privatizing water is NOT the answer to our water woes and crisis irrespective of whether water is managed by the state or the federal government.

· To urge the government to embrace and promote a public-public partnership in a successful water management, specifically we encourage the government to follow the Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang’s
( PBA ) successful and profitable experience in water management.

· To ensure increased awareness and education programs for young and adult consumers on water resource preservation and conservation .

List of Organizations Endorsing The Memorandum.

1. Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (FOMCA)
2. Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC)
3. Education and Research Association for Consumers, Malaysia (ERA Consumer)
4. Asia Pacific Secretariat For Consumer Advocacy, Research and Education (APSCARE)
5. Monitoring Sustainability of Globalization (MSN)
6. Group of Concerned Citizens
7. People Services Organization