Speaking to FMT, National Water Services Commission (SPAN) chairman Charles Santiago said the policy, which was implemented earlier this month, covered all federal and state agencies and industry players in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. Sabah and Sarawak have their own regulators.

“What we want is to prevent another corruption scandal like we saw in Sabah and more recently in Pahang.”

In what was dubbed the Sabah Watergate scandal, some RM32 million in funds for water infrastructure projects was allegedly embezzled by Sabah Water Department officials, while in Pahang, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has detained 12 people in its investigation into graft and abuse of power in a RM23 million project.

Elaborating on the policy, Santiago said it would ensure transparent open tenders, as the name of tendering companies and their owners’ names would be made public.

“Once a contract is awarded, the relevant national or state agencies must publicly state why the chosen company was awarded the tender.”

The Klang MP also said any financial arrangements, including tendering or procurement processes, by the federal and state agencies would involve integrity officers to make sure that the processes are corruption-free.

These integrity officers, who will be trained by the MACC will submit their report to SPAN’s integrity officer.

“Contractors or companies who are suppliers to the federal and state agencies must also have their own integrity officers or use a third-party for this purpose.

“Essentially, we want to cut leakages, unfair pricing, and corruption so that we get value for money at every level, and to ensure all service providers and authorities are operating effectively and efficiently.”

According to the Malaysia Water Industry Guide 2018, revenue from the water services industry amounted to RM5.8 billion in 2017, while the sewerage industry contributed RM698 million.