PETALING JAYA, July 4 — The company is laden with constant water woes affecting millions of folks living in the Klang Valley.

Yet, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) found it right to pay its executive chairman more than RM30 million in remuneration last year.

And in a natural reaction, consumer groups slammed the water concessionaire, calling it “shameless”.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) deputy president Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said: “As a company that is not making profit and is experiencing quality problems, Syabas’ board should justify approving such a package to the public.

“Syabas is a company with both public and government interests, and I believe there should be mechanisms implemented to oversee such matters. This should apply to all companies with public interests, not just Syabas.”

He said such matters should be announced in advance and not just before or after payments have been made.

Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan said the matter ought to be examined not only from a legal but also ethical standpoint.

“Although people have a right to receive such packages, in some cases, it can be legal but not ethical and vice-versa,” he said.

“This is something Syabas and its stakeholders should justify to the public. Also, awarding such packages should be done fairly and not simply because of a person’s position or social standing.”

Klang MP Charles Santiago had revealed at the Parliament lobby yesterday Syabas paid RM33.4 million to executive chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail in 2012. The remuneration package includes a RM20 million gratuity. The figure was a four-fold increase from the RM8.35 million Rozali received in 2011.

Rozali is also Puncak Niaga Holdings Berhad (PNHB) executive chairman. For the record, Syabas is a subsidiary of PNHB.

“It is within Puncak Niaga’s legal right to pay whatever it wants to its directors but such excessive remuneration is by no means an ethical and responsible decision given that water is public goods,” Santiago said.

“While Selangor is facing a water crisis, the RM20 million could have been used to upgrade and maintain PNHB and Syabas’ infrastructure and to reduce non-revenue water.”

He said PNHB shareholders were informed of the payment on June 26.

Santiago said the federal government — via Acqua SPV Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB) — bailed out PNHB in 2011 by acquiring its RM328.12 million debt instrument.

Santiago said the company’s debt escalated to RM5.66 billion last year from RM4.46 billion in 2008. Despite the financial woes, Rozali’s remuneration increased from RM14 million in 2009 to RM8.35 million in 2011 and RM33.4 million last year.