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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright May 2023
Kedah and Kelantan are not short of water. Muda dam has plenty for everyone in the state and beyond. So is the Kemubu in Kelantan.
Both states have rivers that bring water from the hills all the way to the shores. But potable water is not reaching the masses effectively and efficiently.
In Kedah, the complaint is it drips mostly. In Kelantan it'll be the colour of teh tarik.
Syed Ahmad Idid, a former judge from Kedah talks to us recently about water problems in Kedah quoting The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 'Water, water everywhere / And all the boards did shrink / Water, water, everywhere / But not a drop to drink.''
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an epic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It describes an old mariner who stops a wedding guest on his way to the gathering. He tells the story of how one mistake caused the deaths of his entire crew in the ship he once captained. While at sea, the mariner noticed an albatross following his ship. Without rhyme or reason he decided to shoot it.
When the albatross died, the wind stopped, leaving them stranded in mid ocean. In the days of sailing ships, without the wind, they have no way of reaching a port and replenish their fast depleting supply of water. The sun beats down upon them without mercy. Without rain the crew suffers from growing thirst.
This is where he mariner describes the absurdity of his situation. They are surrounded by water yet unable to satisfy their thirst. The saltwater does not provide the relief they longed for. More and more the ship begins to feel like a prison to everyone on board. Eventually, all of the men die with the exception of the mariner. He alone survives to tell the world the cost of one reckless action.
Back to Kedah and Kelantan water woes. PAS old timers like the ancient mariner did kill the albatross of Kelantan that has brought untold misery to the people of that state.
Logging destroyed the environment and local ecology. Some say the logging caused water to be polluted and archaic treatment plants and piping system fail to deliver potable water to many homes in Kelantan.
Yes, there is water everywhere even in remote Kuala Krai where our Newswav writer Oyang Sen hails from. Like the ancient mariner Oyang laments on the colour of water of Kelantan river that turned to teh tarik since logging started.
It was once pristine with plenty of fresh water fish and udang galah, as 84 year old Oyang San remembers it. But it wasn't him, Oyang San said, who shot the albatross that turned the river to the colour of teh tarik. It was the loggers!
In Alor Setar water supply has been privatised to Syarikat Air Darul Aman (SADA). In colloquial Kedah dialect SADA stands for "Sikit Ada" referring to dripping in the morning during rush hour and evening at sunset.
According to an old artist who is a handicap that we often feature in this column, Kamaruddin, Alor Setar water supply suffers from low reservoir capacity. Each housing estate in Alor Setar provides small reserve tanks. So during heavy usage early in the morning or late evening, housing estates pipes run dry. They drip enough for young wuduk at subuh or maghrib.
But in all probabilities SADA needs better resources (management?) to make water supply more efficient and effective. Sanusi alone may not be able to move water that is always "sikit-sikit ada" to being always available.
Does PMX want to champion this cause? It is not magic where you can wave your wand to change the old treatment and piping system in both states overnight.
Please don't make promises that you cannot deliver. Stop saying anything and everything will be done just to win these two states in the forthcoming elections.
These are legacy issues handed down by previous governments that had tried to impoverish the Malay states but enrich a few at the expense of the rakyat. It becomes an issue every election year.
It is almost by design that these two Malay states suffer from water woes and they are governed by the opposition. Lim Kit Siang equates this to poor governance but PAS replies that they have been sidelined by the federal government for years to discredit the local administration.
Now, here comes PMX to champion a cause that locals are immune to. They are sceptical about the old rhyme of water water everywhere.
So, our advice to PMX is: Why hang the albatross across your neck? Why do you want to shoulder the burden, as some locals will tell him "tiada beban batu digalas".
Look for more important issues rather than pick on one that is so familiar and not easily resolved within one term. An issue that local skeptics find too boring. It'll only come back to haunt you later like the nightmare of the ancient mariner who shot the albatross that was not even around his neck but ended up bringing misery upon himself to regret the cost of one reckless action that led to his downfall.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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