IT was a proud day for 47 staff members of the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) when they received long service awards from Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow at St Giles Wembley Hotel in George Town tonight.
Of the 47, two have served PBAPP for 25 years, 23 for 30 years and 22 for 35 years and they received BSN premium saving certificate worth RM1,500, RM2,000 and RM2,500 respectively.
Chow, who is also the PBAPP chairman, congratulated them for their dedication and loyalty and said these long-serving employees have started their career with PBA (Penang Water Authority) before it was corporatised as PBAPP on 1 March, 1999.
“We have seen many changes in the last 20 years and PBAPP has become more pro-active, professional, innovative and results-oriented over the years,” Chow said in his speech.
“The most outstanding achievement by PBAPP is that there has never been any water rationing in the last 20 years in the state. The water supply has been continuous. There may be two or three hours of water interruption.”
Upon hearing that, the employees responded with a loud applause.
Chow, who is also PBA Holdings Bhd chairman, said he was proud that for 17 successive years, dividends were paid out to the shareholders.
On top of that, he said PBAPP has consistently reinvested its profits to raise its services. From 2008 to 2018, PBAPP has invested RM682.6 million in 335 water supply-related projects in Penang.
Chow also noted that PBAPP has successfully carried out excellent services and meeting its KPI, like maintaining 100% water supply to the urban areas and 99.8% to rural areas and maintaining its lowest domestic water tariff in Malaysia for the first 35,000 litres each month.
PBAHB and PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said there are two main factors why there is always consistent water supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year in the state to 1.77 million people and thousands of businesses.
First is labour efficiency and second is PBAPP does not outsource major engineering operations, he said.
On labour efficiency, Jaseni said in 1999, PBAPP had a staff of 999 serving 338,523 registered water users. In 2008, the number of staff increased to 1,347 serving 616,082 water users.This means that in 1999, PBAPP had a ratio of one employee to 339 users while in 2018, it was 1:457.
Based on the ratio, Jaseni said it reflected the employees’ work efficiency and PBAPP overall efficiency as a water supply operator.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alvie Cheng
Video by Chan Kok Kuan