KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is not among the countries at risk of “water bankruptcy,” despite global concerns over water scarcity, though significant management reforms are needed to prevent localised supply challenges by 2030.
Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof dismissed the notion, pointing to the country’s plentiful raw water resources.
“Malaysia receives an average of 2,500 millimetres of rainfall annually, with renewable water resources exceeding 580 billion cubic metres per year,” he said.
“The real challenge that needs addressing is integrated water resource management, the protection of river basin areas, and the efficiency of the national water delivery system,” Fadillah added in a media statement.
Responding to United Nations University (UNU-INWEH) reports on the global water crisis, he said Malaysia’s main concern lies in water quality and infrastructure rather than physical scarcity.
Currently, around 30% of the nation’s 2,986 river basins face moderate to severe pollution caused by industrial discharge and uncontrolled land use, which threatens the operation of water treatment facilities.
The PETRA minister also highlighted the pressing issue of Non-Revenue Water (NRW), currently at 34.3%.
“This figure represents a daily loss of roughly 6,000 million litres of treated water, costing the nation an estimated RM2 billion in potential revenue annually,” he said.
“If the NRW rate can be reduced to 25%, the country could save approximately 2,000 million litres of additional water per day without the need to build new water treatment plants,” Fadillah added.
With national water demand projected to rise from 19,372 million litres per day in 2025 to over 25,000 million litres by 2030, PETRA is accelerating its Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach. This includes the construction of Off-River Storage (TORS), expanding dam capacities, and systematically mapping groundwater sources.
Fadillah also noted that domestic water use remains high at 225 litres per person per day, exceeding the World Health Organisation’s recommended sustainable target of 165 litres.
To address these challenges, PETRA plans to integrate digital technologies and artificial intelligence into water management, aiming to position Malaysia as a regional centre of water excellence by 2040.
Under the “AIR 2040” framework and Malaysia Madani vision, the Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring long-term water sustainability and resilience. – March 24, 2026