The Klang MP said Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari should have asked for money and personnel to deal with the state’s water problems earlier, adding that he must also establish a task force to stop the pollution of rivers and other water sources in the state.

“Selangor should have been proactive by ensuring the Selangor Water Management Authority took on an effective enforcement and monitoring role,” Santiago said.

The DAP lawmaker said this must be done in the next 30 days with the goal of reviewing current policies and developing new regulations to ensure industry compliance, adding that the task force should also have the ability to strengthen oversight bodies and financial resources.

If such measures are not taken, he said, water shortages like that which plagued much of Selangor these past few days would become the norm.

“We would be going back and forth shifting the blame to each other while the people continue to face water disruptions,” he said over the pollution to waterways last week, that left nearly 1.2 million Klang Valley residents without water since Thursday.

Four brothers who own the factory alleged to be responsible for the pollution were arrested on Saturday.

Amirudin was reported to have said that the factory would be evicted, on top of the RM60,000 compound fine that has been issued to them by the state government.