Malaysia has one of the most organized water infrastructures in South-East Asia but is not without its own set of challenges, says Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
The Deputy Energy Transition and Public Water Transformation Minister said this at the launch of the ASIAWATER 2024 expo and conference, held from April 23-25, which hosts over 20,000 professionals from 61 countries to explore sustainable water solutions.
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The Deputy Energy Transition and Public Water Transformation Minister said this at the launch of the ASIAWATER 2024 expo and conference, held from April 23-25, which hosts over 20,000 professionals from 61 countries to explore sustainable water solutions.
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00Asia Water 2024
00:08Water is the essence of life.
00:11The current heatwave gripping our nation reminds us of its critical importance,
00:18particularly in the face of climate change.
00:21No longer can we afford to treat water as merely a resource.
00:26It is a strategic imperative of our economy, society and national security.
00:33Malaysia has one of the most organized water infrastructures in Southeast Asia
00:39and it has made significant progress in providing access to clean water and sanitation to its population.
00:48However, the Malaysian water industry is not without its challenges.
00:54Foremost among these challenges is in ensuring continuous and adequate supply of water,
01:01particularly in drought-stricken regions.
01:04These water stress barriers experience heightened pressure on existing water resources,
01:12posing significant challenges to water supply reliability for domestic, agricultural and industrial needs.
01:22At the same time, intense rainfall and flooding events pose risks to water infrastructure,
01:30disrupting supply chains and compromising water quality.
01:35These challenges underscore the urgent need for climate-resilient water management strategies.
01:42Another looming issue is water pollution,
01:46driven by various factors including industrial discharge, agricultural run-off
01:53and inadequate wastewater management systems.
01:57Contaminated water sources not only compromise human health
02:02but also threaten aquatic ecosystems, biodiversity and food security.
02:09Amidst these challenges, ensuring universal access to clean water
02:14remains a paramount goal for the Ministry.
02:17As mentioned by Dr, we in fact come up with the name of Energy Transition and Water Transformation or PETRA
02:26because disparities in access persist, particularly in rural and marginalized communities,
02:34underscoring the need for equitable and inclusive water management policies
02:41and infrastructure development initiatives.
02:45As of 2023, urban and rural water supply access coverage were at 97.1% respectively.
02:57Meanwhile, sewerage services covered 84.4% of the main cities.
03:04Our target by the end of 2025 is to achieve 98% coverage of clean water and sewerage coverage in other areas.
03:15This initiative aligns with the Malaysia Madani primary objective of enhancing the well-being of its people
03:24while supporting the sixth goal of the Sustainable Development Goal or SDG 6,
03:30ensuring access to sustainable water management and sanitation for all.
03:36In our efforts to achieve the goals, we are focusing on four key initiatives
03:44to address the challenges we face in our water industry.
03:48First, we must secure a reliable water future by strategically planning and developing our water infrastructure.
03:59Apart from the systematic planning of water infrastructures,
04:04other initiatives by the Ministry include looking at alternative measures
04:11to support our objective in providing continuous and adequate water supply and resources
04:18such as off-river storage or ORS and the usage of reclaimed water for industrial purposes.
04:26Second, we must address the financial sustainability of our water operators.
04:34A healthy water industry needs healthy operators.
04:39Dato' Teo must agree on this point.
04:42We will work to create long-term financial stability,
04:46allowing for continued investment in critical infrastructure upgrades.
04:51Third, we must optimise operations across the entire water industry.
04:59This means using our resources more efficiently,
05:03minimising waste and maximising the value we get from every drop of water.
05:10Therefore, the implementation of the National Non-Revenue Water or NRW Programme
05:18will be enhanced to further reduce NRW percentage to 31% by 2025 in line with our national target.
05:28Finally, we must build climate resilience into our water systems.
05:34This is important because climate change presents major uncertainties
05:39in future safe water access as it is impacting the water cycle.
05:45The lessons learnt from prior events and major floods
05:49has shifted the national priority to strengthen mitigation
05:54and adaptation plans to reduce the impacts to the economy.
05:59Hence, we need to prioritise strategies for flood mitigation and coastal protection,
06:06ensuring our water infrastructure can withstand the challenges of a changing climate.
06:23.