Ten-fold price hike sought in Singapore water deal

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s prime minister said on Monday he is seeking to hike the price of water sold to neighbouring Singapore by more than 10 times as his country searches for ways to pay off massive debts.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who shot back to power in an electoral upset in May, told The Associated Press that a decades-old treaty governing the water agreement needs to be revised to reflect increases in the cost of living.

The water deal has long been a point of contention between the two countries. Dr Mahathir said in June he wants to renegotiate the deal.

Malaysia currently sells water to Singapore at 3 sen (24 satang) per thousand gallons and buys treated water at 50 sen (4 baht) per thousand gallons.

By comparison, the southern Malaysian state of Johor sells water to the neighboring state of Melaka at 30 sen (2.4 baht) per 1,000 gallons — a rate Dr Mahathir described as “charitable’’ given that it’s a domestic deal.

“To a foreign country, we need to get more than that,’’ he said. He declined to discuss specifics, citing ongoing negotiations.

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has said his country will live up to the agreement and expects Malaysia to do the same.

Dr Mahathir also continued to cast doubt on the value of a high-speed rail project linking the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Singapore. He announced the cancellation of the project in May as part of a review of big infrastructure deals reached under his predecessor, Najib Razak, though the government has since tried to renegotiate the terms.

“If the price is brought down within our means, then maybe we’ll go ahead,’’ he said on Monday. He added that it would be preferable to improve existing train lines to improve travel times.