[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Sempena Hari Air SeDunia 2025 [pada 22 Mac], Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP) menggesa kerajaan memberi perhatian serius terhadap masalah air yang semakin kritikal dihadapi oleh para pengguna di negara ini terutama mereka yang tinggal di kawasan luar bandar.
Tinjauan CAP mendapati, selain bekalan air paip untuk kegunaan harian yang kerap mengalami gangguan dan tercemar, sektor pertanian terutama para petani merupakan golongan paling terkesan menghadapi masalah bekalan air dalam usaha mereka untuk mengairi tanaman padi.
Antara kawasan sawah yang terlibat termasuklah jelapang padi negara iaitu Lembaga Kemajuan Pertanian Muda (Mada) di Kedah dan Perlis, projek pembangunan pertanian Kerian/Sungai Manik di Perak, dan Lembaga Kemajuan Pertanian Kemubu (Kada) di Kelantan.
Masyarakat orang Asli seperti di daerah Gua Musang, Kelantan dan penduduk-penduduk di pedalaman juga merungut tentang perkara ini kerana sumber air bukit kegunaan harian menjadi kotor atau berkelodak akibat penerokaan hutan terutamanya aktiviti pembalakan serta perladangan berhampiran kampung mereka.
Penyusutan paras air di kebanyakan empangan di negara ini kerap berlaku terutama pada musim kemarau. Manakala sungai-sungai semula jadi yang menjadi sumber bekalan air serta ekonomi penduduk luar bandar sejak turun temurun telah dicemari oleh berbagai sisa buangan termasuk bahan toksik dan tidak berfungsi lagi.
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CAP berharap kementerian, jabatan dan agensi yang terlibat mengambil tindakan tegas dengan menguatkuasakan undang-undang berkaitan bagi mengekalkan dan menguruskan sumber bekalan air secara sistematik di samping mengatasi punca-punca yang menyebabkan masalah ini berlaku dengan berkesan.
Sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini para pengguna, petani serta masyarakat orang Asli telah membantah dan merayu kepada pihak kerajaan supaya masalah bekalan air yang mereka hadapi ditangani segera. Namun isu ini masih berlarutan hingga sekarang.
CAP bimbang jika keadaan ini berterusan ia akan memberi kesan lebih buruk ke atas sektor pertanian sekali gus menjejaskan hasil pendapatan petani dan bekalan makanan untuk rakyat pada masa akan datang.
Justeru itu CAP menggesa agar kerajaan memberi perhatian khusus kepada punca kemerosotan kualiti alam sekitar dengan mengawal dan memulihkan kawasan tadahan air yang terjejas, memastikan bekalan air kita dilindungi, mengatasi masalah pencemaran sungai serta menyelamatkan sumber air semula jadi dari sebarang bentuk ancaman. – CAP
English version
Worsening water crisis
In conjunction with World Water Day 2025 [on 22 March], the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) urges the government to take serious action regarding the increasingly critical water crisis faced by consumers in the country, especially those living in rural areas.
CAP’s survey found that, apart from frequent disruptions and contamination of piped water supply for daily use, the agricultural sector, especially the farming community, is among the most affected groups as it struggles with water shortages for irrigating paddy fields.
Among the affected paddy-growing areas are the nation’s rice granaries, including the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) in Kedah and Perlis, the Kerian/Manik River agricultural development project in Perak and the Kemubu Agricultural Development Authority (Kada) in Kelantan.
Indigenous communities, such as communities in the Gua Musang district of Kelantan and residents in remote areas have also expressed concerns about this issue. Their daily water sources from mountain streams have become polluted or silted due to deforestation, particularly due to logging and plantation activities, near their villages.
The declining water levels in many dams across the country occur frequently, especially during the dry season. Natural rivers, which have long served as a source of water and livelihood for rural communities, have been polluted with various waste products, including toxic substances, and thus no longer function as a water source.
CAP urges the relevant ministries, departments and agencies involved to take strict action by enforcing laws to maintain and systematically manage water resources while effectively overcoming the root causes of the water crisis.
For the past several years, consumers, farmers and Indigenous communities have protested and appealed to the government to resolve the water supply issues they face. However, this problem remains unresolved to this day.
CAP is concerned that if this situation continues, it will have severe consequences for the agricultural sector, ultimately affecting farmers’ incomes and the nation’s food supply for the people in the future.
Therefore, CAP calls on the government to prioritise addressing the causes of environmental degradation by regulating and restoring affected water catchment areas, ensuring the protection of our water resources and supply, tackling river pollution and safeguarding natural water sources from any threats. – CAP
Mohideen Abdul Kader is president of the Consumers’ Association of Penang.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
