Shop owners have to get their premises inspected first for new water account

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HAVING to travel back and forth multiple times to the Syabas office just to pay the deposit for a new account has caused frustration among some shop owners in Pandan Perdana.

Some of them have to come from as far as Ipoh to apply for a new account after their property’s water supply was disconnected.

Pandan Perdana Residents Association chairman Lim Ah Chai said there were more than 20 such people who had approached him about this problem.

“These people would prepare the necessary documentation such as photographs, a copy of the sales and purchase agreement, filling in the Syabas form and engaging a licensed plumber to check the piping system in their homes before applying. Even with all that, their deposit is not accepted,” he said.

Difficult procedur e: Lim showing some of the documents prepared by the owners when applying for a new account with Syabas on a property that has a terminated account.

He said Syabas had informed the owners that they had to send their own officers to the premises for an inspection before they were able to accept the deposit.

“What is the point of the owners engaging a licensed plumber if Syabas is not going to accept it? Owners are inconvenienced when they have to go to the office again just to pay the deposit,” Lim said.

He said, however, Syabas officers usually came within a day of the application.

Syabas corporate affairs executive director Abdul Halem Mat Som said they did not encourage owners to pay the deposit first as it meant Syabas had to install the water meters immediately.

“We carry out the inspection first to check if everything is in order and there are no problems such as leaking pipes. If such problems are not addressed before the water meter is installed, it could lead to an unusually high water bill for the owner,” he said.

He added that the shops that had had its water account terminated meant that the bill had not been paid for a minimum of six months.

“We do not know what is happening within the premises during that time. So in the case of premises with terminated accounts, we have to inspect the piping inside the property as well,” he said, adding that they do not charge for the inspection.

Abdul Halem said engaging a licensed plumber was like double-checking on the pipes.

“These people are also able to carry out reparation work if necessary whereas Syabas just inspects and advises,” he added.

He advised people to take immediate action to reconnect their water supply when it was disconnected as the process for a new account application was a long one.