SINGAPORE — Malaysia’s former finance minister Daim Zainuddin has claimed that Singapore could be stalling for time in its water dispute with Malaysia as the city-state will most likely be self-sufficient in its water supply when the present water deal expires in 2061.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Mr Daim suggested that Singapore could be using delaying tactics by not agreeing to amend the water agreement, which was signed in 1962.

“The 1962 agreement expires in 2061. We believe by then Singapore would be self-sufficient as far as water demands are concerned and would no longer need to purchase raw water from Malaysia,” Mr Daim told the Hong Kong-based newspaper.

“So, maybe Singapore is trying to stretch the dispute till such a time when it can tear up the agreement without any loss.”

In the interview, the former Malaysian minister, who is a confidant of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, noted that Singapore’s recent willingness to discuss the water dispute was a “major development”.

Mr Daim chairs the Council of Eminent Persons, which advises the Malaysian government on matters of finance and the economy.

Last month, Dr Mahathir said that the two countries have agreed to seek an amicable resolution to the dispute, including taking the matter to the global community.

The prime minister said he broached the topic during an annual leaders’ retreat with his Singaporean counterpart, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, in Putrajaya last month.

NO CHANGE IN POSITION ON PRICE REVIEW

Malaysia has repeatedly called for the two countries to return to the negotiating table to review the price of water set out in the 1962 agreement.  

Mr Daim reiterated this call, saying that Johor “has the right to review the price of water sold to Singapore after 25 years”.

“(The agreement) does not say that a review can happen only in the 25th year,” he said.

“Malaysia has some good legal grounds, and hopefully, our attorney-general will be able to convince the Singapore side.”

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry has stressed that the country has remained clear, consistent and unchanged in its position that Malaysia has lost the right to review the water price under the agreement.

The pact provided for a review after 25 years, which meant that both sides could have revised the price jointly in 1987.

Malaysia chose not to seek a review at that time because it acknowledged that it had benefited from the pricing arrangement.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday (May 8), Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that neither country can unilaterally change the terms of the agreement.

He said that the water deal is enshrined in the Separation Agreement that established Singapore as a sovereign state in 1965.

“It is, therefore, a fundamental founding document for Singapore.

“Our attorneys-general are having further discussions on the differing legal positions of both sides, on the right to review the price of water under the 1962 water agreement,” Dr Balakrishnan said.

If there is any revision in the price of raw water, he said it is “obvious that the price of treated water that Singapore sells to Johor will also have to be revised”.

ABOUT THE WATER AGREEMENT

Singapore buys water from Malaysia under water agreements signed in 1961 and 1962. The first expired in 2011 and the second will expire in 2061.

The 1962 agreement, which will lapse in 2061, gives Singapore the right to buy 250 million gallons of water a day from the Johor River, at 3 sen for every 1,000 gallons.

In return, Johor is entitled to buy back a daily supply of treated water from Singapore of up to 2 per cent of the raw water it supplied, at 50 sen for every 1,000 gallons.

Singapore has said that the cost of treatment is really RM2.40 for every 1,000 gallons, while Malaysia sells the treated water to Johor citizens at RM3.95 per 1,000 gallons.

Singapore has also supplied extra treated water to the Johor state at its request.

For example, between Jan 2 and 4 this year, Singapore supplied extra treated water to Johor when it needed more because its water plants experienced disruption due to pollution. AGENCIES