PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is not among countries at risk of experiencing ‘water bankruptcy’ as the country still has sufficient raw water resources.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia receives an average of over 2,500 millimetres of rainfall per year, with an estimated renewable water resource of more than 580 billion cubic metres annually.
However, the real challenges that need to be addressed lie in integrated water resource management, protection of river basins, and the efficiency of the country’s water delivery system.
"In general, active dam storage can accommodate water supply for up to 90 days (three months).
"At the same time, the national Non-Revenue Water (NRW) rate remains at around 34.3 per cent, equivalent to about 6,000 million litres per day of treated water lost.
“This loss is estimated to reach almost RM2 billion per year in potential revenue. However, if the NRW rate can be reduced to just 25 per cent, the country can save about 2,000 million litres of additional water per day without having to build new water treatment plants,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said this in reference to a media report dated 23 March 2026 which recommended that the government through the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) formulate a strategic plan to overcome the risk of a 'global water bankruptcy' situation.
Datuk Amar Fadillah added that the main issues requiring attention include diversified water storage management, encroachment on catchment areas, river pollution, as well as the lack of integration between various alternative water sources such as groundwater, in-channel and off-channel water reservoirs, recycled water, rainwater harvesting systems and desalination.
The PETRA Minister said that the country’s water demand is expected to increase from approximately 19,372 million litres per day in 2025 to over 25,000 million litres per day by 2030 based on the design capacity of water treatment plants, thus requiring more strategic planning of new resources.
He added that Malaysia has 2,986 river basins, of which around 30 per cent of the nation’s major river basins have been identified as facing moderate to serious pollution pressure due to industrial discharge and uncontrolled land use activities which can affect the operations of water treatment plants.
"Currently, the existing water tariff rates for some water operators are only sufficient to cover current costs.
"In this regard, there is a need to accelerate the implementation of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach in all major river basins in the country as well as strengthening water storage strategies through the construction of in-channel and off-channel water reservoirs, increasing the capacity and function of dams, systematically mapping groundwater resources and empowering research elements in exploring powerful and competitive technologies in resource management," he said.
Datuk Amar Fadillah said the use of digital technology and artificial intelligence also needed to be enhanced through the development of a national water sector digital hub that would be launched soon this year and at the regional level by 2040.
In addition, he said new approaches to water sector financing including public-private partnerships and performance-based financing needed to be expanded to accelerate the implementation of NRW reduction projects and the development of alternative water sources.
"This includes ongoing public communication programmes to increase public awareness of the value of water, given that Malaysians' domestic consumption is still around 225 litres per person per day compared to the World Health Organisation's sustainable target of 165 litres.
"Malaysia is not a country that will face water bankruptcy, but without a comprehensive and integrated transformation in water resources management, supply pressures may arise in certain areas by 2030.
"In line with the aspirations of Malaysia MADANI which emphasise resource sustainability and the wellbeing of the people, the implementation of strategies under the AIR 2040 framework will not only enable Malaysia to ensure national water security, but also position the country as a regional hub of water sector excellence by 2040,” he said. -UKASnews
