The government will need to spend RM50 billion in the next five years to improve water and sewerage services, said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik.

"The symptoms of our ailing water and sewage sector are the subject of frequent comment in the press. Gone are the days in Malaysia when you can reliably drink water straight from the taps," he added.

Lim said the amount equates to a third of the budget for the entire 9th Malaysia Plan.

In the past, the water sector had to fight each year for allocation of funding from the budget, competing against other political demands, he said.

Lim said that inefficiencies such as losses from leaking pipes and inaccurate billing had also contributed to a lack of funds for investment in the sector.

At the end of 2003, almost 40 percent of the water distributed was unaccounted for, he said.