Johor Regent pledges to resolve Pontian water disruptions
His commitment follows public outcry over a four-day outage, initially attributed to scheduled pipe closures but later exacerbated by a burst pipeline.
In an Instagram story, His Royal Highness responded to a complaint shared by BrotherhoodJOHOR, stating, 'I will monitor and try to resolve this immediately. This is why it's important to protect Johor's water, our state asset, and not have it under a company appointed by the 'Federal' (Government).'
He added, 'Pray that the state's financial position improves so we can buy back shares in Johor's water company and place them under state management. Insya-Allah.'
Meanwhile, Ranhill SAJ confirmed that supply is being restored in stages after a technical failure in a 750mm pipeline.
'Repair works are fully completed, and the distribution system is stabilizing,' the company said.
Water tankers were deployed to critical areas, with static tanks placed for public access. Ranhill SAJ apologized for the inconvenience and thanked residents for their patience. - Bernama
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
7 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Creating Anwar's legacy — ending ‘gomenshud'
One of the most common Malaysian words I hear is 'gomenshud'. This is used whenever an issue of concern arises and the 'government should' do something about it rather than the private sector or, heaven-forfend, that individuals should fix it for themselves. It is ironic that people complain of incompetence, systemic corruption and moral turpitude within the executive, legislature, judiciary and the permanent civil service at federal and state levels but still demand that more money, responsibility and interference opportunities should be handed to them. The economics of government and policy design, called 'public choice theory' tells us clearly that people in government are not driven by the 'greater good' or the 'public interest', they are, just like the rest of us, driven by personal and collective self-interest. This is not meant to be cynical or offensive but simply to help us understand those in public policy as human beings — they have hopes and dreams, they want to make life easy for themselves as far as possible and if there is a chance to make a few bucks they will take it. Each year the auditor-general reports hundreds of millions lost in wastage and leakages across the government sector. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) estimates RM277 billion lost to corruption between 2018 and 2023. The think tank Emir Research estimates that RM4.5 trillion was lost to corruption in the last 26 years. This is all identified after the fact and to stop this haemorrhage of resources we need to address the 'gomenshud mentality' which defaults to intervention from the start without proper evaluation of the costs and benefits and the likely losses due specifically to policy design. A common form of policy design in Malaysia is the 'patronage cascade' where projects, concessions and access routes to money are specifically built-in to benefit middlemen often through pre-allocated packages and contracts. With this in mind, the 13th Malaysia Plan which will be tabled this week should reduce the role and interference of government. We should be cautious if we see 'patronage cascades' where policies are specifically designed to pass projects to vested interests. Instead, broad-based universal programmes, available to everyone, with open and transparent access routes should be the emphasis. This can be achieved first by government exiting commercial activities which crowd out large businesses, SMEs and micro enterprises and leaving these activities to the private sector. Second by slashing regulations and focusing only on minimum standards of health and safety, anti-corruption, good governance and anti-trust issues. Finally, by focusing on the basic role of government in many areas where there are direct and legitimate concerns for public policy including public health, education and social protection. Economic mechanisms we hope to see in the 13MP include liberalisation of markets, reducing regulatory burdens, limiting government interference and promoting creative, innovative, agile, competitive businesses. The US tariff issue also sends us a lesson that protectionist policies come with a reciprocal cost. So removing restrictions to market access should also be a priority for the 13MP. Proper independent assessments have rarely been made of the targets of previous Malaysia plans and many have not been delivered, fully or at all. The main unfulfilled target of every Malaysia plan is to build in a mechanism to end the need for future plans. In other words, these are 'forever wars' against dreamed up economic challenges more typical of centrally planned economies. They are increasingly irrelevant in a modern technology-driven economic environment in which anything laid down in July 2025 will be obsolete by December 2025 let alone by 2030 — gomenshud recognise this and end it once and for all. The views expressed are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
Borneo Post
12 hours ago
- Borneo Post
BIMP-EAGA Council urges fisheries devolution to Sabah under MA63
Dr Raymond (left) sharing the Tamparuli programme to Tuaran member of parliament Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau. Dr Raymond is currently implementing the programme to ensure Tamparuli can be elevated as productive district in Sabah. Both also discussed the importance of restoring Sabah's right in fisheries. KOTA KINABALU (Aug 3): The BIMP-EAGA Business Council (Malaysia-Sabah Chapter) has reaffirmed its call for the full devolution of fisheries governance to the Sabah State Government as part of a long-overdue restorative justice process under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). Ita chairman, Dr Raymond Alfred, made the call amid growing national and regional conversations about the need to realign federal-state relations, especially in the governance of natural and marine resources, which are vital to Sabah's economy and cultural identity. 'The devolution of fisheries power is not just a bureaucratic reform – it is a rightful correction of historical imbalances that have long deprived Sabah of full control over its maritime wealth. We see this as a restorative justice measure in line with the spirit and substance of MA63,' said Dr Raymond. Sabah's coastal communities, traditional fisherfolk and marine entrepreneurs continue to face confusion, double licensing, and weak enforcement mechanisms due to overlapping jurisdictions between federal and state agencies. Dr Raymond emphasized that the Fisheries Act 1985 (Federal), while applicable to the Excusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and deep sea, should no longer override Sabah's constitutional rights over its internal waters and adjacent seas. 'Sabah has both the institutional maturity and local expertise to manage its own fisheries sustainably and inclusively. What we need is the political will to return what rightfully belongs to the people of Sabah,' he added. The BIMP-EAGA Business Council sees the devolution of fisheries governance as a strategic pillar in the development of a Blue-Green Economy in Sabah. This includes sustainable fisheries, marine-based tourism, blue carbon financing, and community-led aquaculture. Dr Raymond announced that there is a need by the Sabah State Assembly to submit a formal policy proposal to the Federal Government, calling for amendments to the Federal Fisheries Act 1985, the creation of a Sabah Marine and Fisheries Authority (SMFA), a fair revenue-sharing framework and recognition of customary fishing zones. He urged state and federal leaders to view fisheries devolution not as a political demand, but as a constitutional and moral obligation. 'The time has come to match words with action. Restoring Sabah's autonomy over its seas is essential not only for economic empowerment, but for dignity, equity and the promise of a just Federation,' he concluded.
The Star
16 hours ago
- The Star
Political motivations behind rising cyberattacks in Indonesia in mid-2025, report says
JAKARTA: Online intimidation against critics of public officials and government policies in the form of cyberattacks has risen in Indonesia in the second quarter of this year, according to a recent report. The report, released by digital rights advocacy groups South-east Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) on Wednesday (July 30), recorded 168 incidents of cyberattack between April and June. The figure rose from 139 in the first quarter of the year and 90 in the same period in 2024. The attacks, which peaked in May with 65 cases, ranged from hacking and account suspensions to doxing and identity theft. But digital intimidation remained the most prominent type of attack with 42 cases. Among the list of victims, students were found to be the most targeted with 40 incidents involving them. They were followed by private employees, ordinary citizens and activists with 25, 23 and 16 incidents, respectively. 'Compared to the first quarter, we found more cyberattacks with political overtones,' SAFEnet's head of freedom of expression M. Hafizh Nabiyyin said during the report's launch. Some incidents were found to be related to many hot-button political issues. An example was several Instagram users who had their accounts suspended after criticising the controversial revision of the Indonesian Military Law, which was passed by the House of Representatives in March despite public opposition. Account suspensions also occurred against users criticising the controversial nickel mining operation in Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, after environmental group Greenpeace Indonesia shared videos showing nickel mining activities in one of the islands in the area. SAFEnet also noted that at least eight people experienced cyberattacks after posting satirical comments on X pertaining to the alleged involvement of Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and former communications minister Budi Arie Setiadi in illegal gambling operations. Both politicians have denied the allegations. After posting their contents, the eight users reportedly received a barrage of anonymous calls and messages through WhatsApp from domestic and international numbers, including ones coming from Thailand and the Philippines. 'The callers forced the victims to delete their posts and threatened to leak sensitive personal data such as their mothers' name, licence plate numbers as well as ID card photos and numbers,' the group wrote in the report, alleging that the attacks showed 'a clear political motive to suppress public dissent'. Another case saw a stand-up comedian being targeted after making jokes about West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi during a performance in the provincial capital of Bandung in May. After the clip of his performance went viral, several Instagram and TikTok accounts doxxed the comedian and his relatives' home addresses. 'This phenomenon indicates a new form of politically motivated digital repression, which not only intimidates, but also undermines the sense of security in expressing opinions in online public spaces,' the reports said. SAFEnet noted that platforms under tech company Meta remained the most common sites of attacks, with 68 incidents recorded on Instagram, 53 on Whatsapp and 18 on Facebook. Other platforms, such as X and TikTok, saw at least 10 cases each. The report also highlighted other pressing digital rights issues, including a spike in online gender-based violence with 665 reported cases, higher than 422 reported in the first quarter of 2025 or the 465 during the same period in 2024. The rights group still welcomed a much-lauded Constitutional Court ruling on the Electronic Information and Transactions Law in April, in which justices prohibited its use by the government and corporations against their critics. However, SAFEnet emphasised that the ruling has not fully guaranteed freedom of expression in the digital realm so far. 'To date, there is still a tendency to criminalise others using the cyberlaw's loose articles, which often continues into a formal investigation and even the court process,' the group wrote in the report, 'which could harm the victims' financial, physical or psychological state.' The Jakarta Post asked the Presidential Communication Office (PCO) for a comment on the report. But PCO expert staff Insaf Albert Tarigan declined to comment, saying on Thursday (Aug 1) that he had not heard about the report. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
