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Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (Met Malaysia) sent him a quotation for the cost of cloud seeding yesterday.
This was after a water utility company warned that six major dams in the northern region were drying up due to lack of sufficient rain.
Chow said in its letter, Met Malaysia informed him it would only provide technical expertise and that other costs such as rental of aeroplanes and equipment related to cloud seeding were to be borne by the state government.
He said the reply from the meteorological agency came after he wrote two letters to Met Malaysia and its parent ministry, the environment and water ministry, on March 5 and April 10.
“In view of the needs of 3.95 million people in Penang and Kedah who need uninterrupted water supply daily at a time when we are fighting Covid-19, we will pay for the costs incurred.
“We hope that immediate action can be taken for the health and safety of the public in the state and the northern region.
“We would like to urge the federal government to immediately start cloud seeding in Penang and Kedah, given the current situation where water is needed for sanitation to fight the Covid-19 spread.”
The Chief Minister’s Office estimated the cost of cloud seeding at RM27,000 a day.
In a statement, it said Penang had had eight days of cloud seeding last year and four days of cloud seeding in January.
The Penang Water Supply Corporation had earlier warned of low levels at Kedah’s Muda Dam as well as the dams at Beris and Pedu and Teluk Bahang, Air Itam and Mengkuang in Penang.
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