M’sia, S’pore agree to find amicable solution to water supply issue – PM

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to find an amicable solution to the issue over the supply of water between the two countries, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday.

The effort will include the possibility of dispute resolution through arbitration on a mutually agreed basis, he told a packed joint press conference with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the 9th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat here.

The water agreement between the two countries was among the issues discussed by Dr Mahathir and Lee in their talks.

The 1962 Johore River Water Agreement, which expires in 2061, requires Malaysia to supply Singapore with 250 million gallons of raw water per day at three sen per 1,000 gallons. Malaysia purchases a portion of the treated water at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.

Malaysia regards the resolving of the longstanding issue of the water price review as a priority.

“We were engaged in active negotiations on the review in the late 90s and early 2000s,” Dr Mahathir said.

The issue of the water agreement cropped up in the middle of last year after Dr Mahathir pointed out that the price of raw water supplied to Singapore “did not make sense” and said he planned to negotiate a review of the terms.

Lee, meanwhile, said it was in the interest of the two countries to work together to ensure sustainable water supply for both sides, which would reduce the potential for further conflict in the future.

He, however, raised Singapore’s concerns about the recent water pollution in the Johor River and the long-term water yield.

He said that just last week, the Singapore Public Utilities Board (PUB) waterworks at Kota Tinggi was forced to shut down because of high ammonia level and the source was traced to a palm oil mill in Sedenak, Johor.

He also said that if the Johor River suffers an incident like the one at Sungai Kim Kim recently, it “will be disastrous”.

Many people had to be treated at hospitals following the pollution of Sungai Kim Kim in Johor early last month due to the dumping of chemical waste in the waterway.

Lee said that although Singapore’s position was that Malaysia has lost its right to review the price under the water agreement, the two leaders agreed that their respective attorney-generals (AGs) will meet in November to understand each other’s legal position on the right to review. - Bernama