PUTRAJAYA: Newly appointed Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Xavier Jayakumar today vowed that the long-standing Selangor water supply issue would be settled within a month.

He said he had held discussions with the relevant parties, including Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, on the matter and that only a few points remained to be finalised.

“We believe it can be resolved soon. I will seek the Cabinet’s permission to extend the period for another month,” he said at a press conference here.

Xavier, who is Kuala Langat MP was sworn in as minister yesterday.

The restructuring of Selangor’s water industry was prolonged following the failure of the state government and the previous Barisan Nasional-led federal government to agree on a value for the acquisition of Syarikat Pengeluar Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SPLASH).

The state government only settled the acquisition of three other water concessionaires.

Xavier said the original deadline for the water restructuring was tomorrow, July 4.

The former Selangor executive councillor also said the relevant parties must be committed to resolving the issue immediately.

“Let’s not talk about the past, let’s go for the future. I think we are ready to solve the problem that has been going on for such a long time.

“All parties are ready to see an end to this, and we are definitely ready to get this done within one month,” he said.