Its president, S Piarapakaran, said the government’s move did not follow the restructuring plans drawn up under the Water Services Industry Act 2006.

“We urge the ministry to immediately stop this insane move,” he said in a statement today.

Piarapakaran said any deviation from the National Water Services Industry Restructuring Initiative would threaten the security of the country’s water supply, resulting in costly mitigation measures in the future.

Yesterday, Ranhill announced that it had been invited by the finance ministry to undertake a due diligence exercise on IWK in relation to a proposed disposal of its interest in IWK.

Piarapakaran urged Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz and the Cabinet to step in and not allow this privatisation move to proceed.