(The Star) - The Selangor Government has denied that it had instructed its subsidiary to reduce treated water production at the Sungai Semenyih plant.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim refuted allegations made by Selangor Barisan Nasional coordinator Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed, who claimed that state subsidiary Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB) had instructed Konsortium Abass Sdn Bhd (Abass) to reduce water production.

“No, no such thing. The state secretary (Datuk Khusrin Munawi) meets with them (water concessionaires) every day, so we know.

“It is the fasting month, so we should refrain from slander,” he told reporters after launching a state-level road safety campaign in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

In a news report, Mohd Zin said the directive was the cause behind the water shortage in Kajang and Balakong.

He was quoted as saying KDEB director Suhaimi Kamaralzaman issued a directive to Abass last year to reduce treated water production from 548 million litres a day (mld) to 454 mld.

On another matter, Khalid said the arbitration process between Universiti Selangor (Unisel) and hostel operator Jana Niaga Sdn Bhd (JNSB) started yesterday.

In the dispute, JNSB claimed that Unisel has an outstanding debt of RM15mil, while Unisel said it was withholding payment due to defects in the hostel blocks.

On JNSB's claim that the state government rejected earlier requests for arbitration until the dispute was highlighted in the media, Khalid said JNSB failed to follow procedures as stated in the concession agreement.