KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 10 -- The new water tariff setting mechanism (TSM) will not cause consumer bills to rise excessively, Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji told Parliament today.

The water, land and natural resources deputy minister then cited the case of Pahang to support his assertion.

"Let's use Pahang for an example. Let's say that in one month a household is using 25 cubic metres of water. Under the old calculation the first 18 cubic metres of water is multiplied with 0.37 sen.

"Then you calculate the remaining seven cubic metres of water by multiplying it with 0.75 sen and add the two figures together and you will get around RM12.19.

"Under the new calculation, many think it will cause a drastic increase in water price. But this is n...