Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday slammed the 'double standard' attitude of a few parties who remained silent when states under opposition administration increased water tariffs, but loudly criticized the Federal government when similar policies were implemented.
According to him, the Federal government has never blocked any application for tariff increases because water-related issues are under the jurisdiction of the state government and are made based on reasonable needs.
Responding to a question from Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN–Kuala Kangsar) in the Dewan Rakyat, Anwar explained that four states governed by the opposition, such as Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, have implemented water tariff increases, along with several other states.
However, the move did not receive loud criticism from any party, unlike the RON95 subsidy issue which went viral and caused an uproar among the community.
Meanwhile, Anwar also questioned the biased attitude towards the government's move to implement targeted subsidies for fuel and electricity tariffs, even though the policy directly benefits the low-income group.
He said the government has restructured the subsidy provision by reducing assistance to foreigners and the wealthy, while aligning the RON95 subsidy and specific electricity tariffs for the industrial sector.
As a result of this implementation, low-income domestic consumers have enjoyed lower bill rates, in line with the decline in fuel and electricity prices. Latest data shows that electricity bill payments have decreased by between 8% and 14%.
