(Picture source: www.antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov)
I am not sure which is more intense in recent days? The warm weather or the last minute Chinese New Year shopping (simple shopping in Tesco is big nightmare).
The heat wave has hit Malaysia a few weeks ago and I guess it has just gotten worse in the last 2 days or so. Some of the plants in my garden are dying out and is in constant need of watering. The Government even asked the people to start conserving water. Almost everyone in the family been drinking plenty of water and it is still not enough. Taking afternoon showers and sitting under the fan helps a bit but only for a while – it gets hot after 5 minutes. I guess it is the normal thing to do when things gets too warm.
The thing that I found to be irony is the part where the good old Government is asking the people to start conserving water.
Don’t you think it is useless kind of advice? More heat and sweat means more water is going to be used. Fine, even if we are going reduce the usage of water by doing less washing of our cars or turning down that small fountain in our garden. The question is how much more you can expect to reduce? What else can be done to conserve water at home? Taking fewer showers? Doing less washing of clothes and household items? Or worse, drinking less water? How practical it is going to be? Yes, there can be minor saving of water but as far as that is concern, it is only helpful in the short run. Perhaps until we weather out the expected drought. I am not sure how much factories and commercial businesses can do save water. I don’t think there is much to save unless it means reducing their production or overhaul the production process. So, is the blame to wasteful water falls back on the end users?
How about this for a change?
How about if the government starts worrying more on getting the old pipes changed to minimize the leakage of water in the system? How about building up new water pump and treatment station? Or being one step ahead – how about getting the developments on the hillside and water catchments to be stopped. Khir Toyo who was good enough to be advising the people to conserve water seems did not act that “concern” when reports of development in Bukit Cahaya were reported. For him, it was “semuanya OK” (means everything is all right) until the PM decides to see for himself and only then Khir became very active in taking the necessary steps to curtail the development. But whether the right follow ups were made is yet to be satisfied. So, now that the State is experiencing the effect of mismanagement of its water catchment area, instead getting the right action in, all he did was to give cheap advice.
What about getting new water supply from the sea?
Malaysia is surrounded by sea and it seems only practical to start looking into harvesting this source into drinkable water. We laughed at Singapore’s New Water but we being blessed with enough land and resources did not bother to work on new sources of water. We might learn something there from those Singaporeans – after all, aren’t we pro Singaporean these days? What is needed for the some bureaucrats in the Government to wake up and start working? As the head of OIC, I am sure Malaysia will not have any problem in getting the know-hows from its friends in the Middle East. The technology and the cost to build desalination plants & to maintaining them may be high but I am sure that if the Government spends less for “leasing” new jets, for the political party’s wasteful projects, collecting unpaid tax from tax evaders and many more, we can get the funds right and managed it well.
It is warm now and everyone is feeling the heat. The question is whether the Government is feeling it too to start acting for a long term solution.
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