SINGAPORE: Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has dubbed the 1962 water supply deal with Singapore as “too costly” and said his government needs to renegotiate the agreement with Singapore.
In a Bloomberg interview published on Monday (Jun 25), Malaysia’s 92-year-old leader said water was among the issues with Singapore “that we need to settle”.
Advertisement"We will sit down and talk with them, like civilised people," he said in the interview.
Dr Mahathir also said that he would be friendly with Singapore and other nations, while focusing on striking fair deals and ensuring balance.
“I think we can benefit from each other," he said. "We need the expertise of Singapore. Lots of Singapore people invest in Malaysia because it’s much cheaper here."
Dr Mahathir told Bloomberg that he also plans to review Chinese investments and called US President Donald Trump “mercurial”.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“He changes his mind within 24 hours … When you have a man like that, you need to be cautious,” Dr Mahathir said, referring to Trump’s decision on whether to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a summit in Singapore earlier this month.
Since taking power following the shock defeat of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional coalition, Dr Mahathir has cast doubt on several large government-backed projects, including the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail project with Singapore.
Mahathir told the news agency that he was not worried about his critics: "I want to turnaround the economy to grow once again, to achieve developed country status within the shortest possible time … Whether people appreciate me or not, is not relevant. Once I’m dead, they will say nasty things anyway."
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian former prime minister Najib Razak in January had reaffirmed the importance of undertaking the necessary measures to ensure the reliable and adequate water supply from the Johore River as provided for in the 1962 Water Agreement.
In a joint statement issued after a Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat, both counties also affirmed the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement, under which Singapore is given full and exclusive rights to draw up to a maximum of 250 million gallons (mgd) of water per day from the Johore River.
In return, Johor is entitled to buy treated water of the same volume as up to 2 per cent of the water extracted by Singapore on any given day, or about 5 mgd if Singapore draws its full entitlement of water from the Johor River.
In February this year, then-Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Chan Chun Sing said Singapore must ensure that it has an adequate supply of water by the 2050s, before the water agreement with Malaysia expires in 2061.
Under national water agency PUB’s masterplan, NEWater and desalination will meet 85 per cent of Singapore’s water demand by 2060. That is also when the total water demand is expected to double.
WATER AGREEMENT "SACROSANCT" TO SINGAPORE
In a written Parliamentary reply to Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC Seah Kian Peng in January 2017, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said the 1962 Water Agreement was "sacrosanct" to Singapore.
"It was guaranteed by both the Governments of Malaysia and Singapore under the 1965 Separation Agreement, which was deposited with the United Nations," he said.
In March 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said Singapore must be psychologically prepared to face water shortages if its reservoirs dry up and when the second water agreement with Malaysia ends in 2061.
At present, imported water meets half of Singapore’s water needs. But water levels in Johor’s Linggiu Reservoir are falling. There is also the danger of prolonged dry weather, Mr Teo said at the time.
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