Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) should open its books to public scrutiny instead of hurling threat of legal action against its critics.

The water company has threatened to take both Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and the Coalition Against Water Privatization (CAWP) to court for making allegations of "dubious business practices" against the firm, which is a concessionaire of Selangor's privatisation of water services.

"The threat of legal action against the MTUC and the CAWP would only imply that Syabas has something to hide from the public and it is reluctant to be transparent in its operation. This surely does not bode well with the public opinion especially when it comes to the issue of water, a basic need for livelihood," said executive director of human rights group Suaram, Yap Swee Seng

"Suaram is also very concerned that the whole privatisation of water is shrouded in secrecy where the concession agreement is not made available to the public. We call on the government to declassify immediately the concession agreement in order for meaningful public participation in scrutinising the water privatisation."

Yap added that water was a basic need for livelihood and should not be traded as a commodity for profit.

"We urge the government to halt the privatisation of water and conduct a thorough review of the whole project with the aim of ensuring water is sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable to all."