Over 155,000 Johor account holders to get 15% water bill rebate after 4-day water supply disruption

JOHOR BAHRU: Over 155,000 account holders in Johor will receive a 15% rebate on their water bills this month following a four-day water supply disruption, said Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi after discussions with water operator Ranhill SAJ.

According to The Star, Mr Ghazi said Ranhill SAJ had agreed to give a 15% rebate on the water bills of all 155,074 domestic and non-domestic accounts affected, such as houses of worship, charitable institutions, businesses, and industries.

The water disruption affected those in Iskandar Puteri and Johor Bahru last Wednesday and lasted until Saturday.

At the state assembly meeting on Monday (May 26), Mr Ghazi said that while the rebate may not make up for the hardship experienced by those affected, he hopes it will, in some way, “help ease their burden.”

He also apologised, on behalf of the state government, to all Johoreans affected by the water supply interruption, saying he understood it was not a small issue as it disrupted families’ daily lives and affected the operations of schools, hospitals, and businesses.

Mr Ghazi said 42 water tankers, 51 static water tanks, and 13,000 cartons of bottled water were sent to households during the disruption. A task force has also been set up to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

In March, the Johor state government allocated over RM5 billion (S$1.52 billion) to build three reservoirs and three water treatment plants, as it aims to stop relying on Singapore’s treated water by 2030. However, analysts said the timeline for Johor’s planned water treatment plants could be too “ambitious” given the scale of construction involved. /TISG

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