Kedah MB jokes will block river if Penang doesn't pay water bill

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor joked that he will dam up Sungai Muda and redirect its waters away from Penang.

This is if Penang doesn't pay a raw water bill it owes Kedah, he said.

"We will redirect Sungai Muda somewhere else... where will you (Penang) get your water from then?

"I can ask the villagers to put sandbags to dam the river at Pinang Tunggal.

"That's our last intake. After it's all dry you go catch fish (with your hands) at Sungai Pulau Pinang," he was quoted as saying by RTM last night.

Sanusi is demanding that Penang pay Kedah RM50 million per year for raw water supplied from Sungai Muda - claiming the funds will be used to help keep the river clean.

Sungai Muda flows from central Kedah to the south, forming a natural border with the mainland portion of Penang.

Penang has refused to pay for the water charges, with Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow saying that it is in line with international law for his state to use water that is within its borders.

The issue over the raw water bill arose after Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) called on Kedah not to mine rare earth in Ulu Muda to preserve Sungai Muda.

Sanusi recently announced that Kedah has RM42 billion in rare earth minerals which it plans to extract.

He said PBAPP had no right to question what the Kedah government does in Ulu Muda, as the former had not been paying the raw water charges anyway.