Singapore to reduce dependence on Malaysian water

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Singapore has vowed to reduce its dependence on water piped in from Malaysia to ease a long-standing irritant between the two countries and has warned its neighbour against reneging on treaty commitments.

In a policy statement concluding an inaugural debate at Singapore's new parliament which ended yesterday, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the city-state will push ahead with high-technology water processing programs.

Water has been a thorny issue between the two countries which separated bitterly in 1965.

"I do not want our relations with Malaysia to be always strained by this issue," Goh said.

"It prevents us from co-operating in strategic areas of mutual benefit. The long-term interests of our two countries might be better served if we can remove this constant thorn in bilateral relations," he said.

Cheap water

Malaysia has accused Singapore of profiteering from cheap water supplied by the state of Johor under agreements dating back to the early 1960s, and is demanding a higher price.

Goh said that Singapore was ready to negotiate a higher price but stressed that "this issue goes beyond money."

"The 1961 and 1962 Water Agreements are international treaties, legally binding on Singapore and Malaysia. They are guaranteed by both governments in the 1965 Separation Agreement and cannot be varied except as provided for within the Agreements, or by mutual consent," Goh said.

"Any breach of the Water Agreements would also call into question the Separation Agreement, and undermine our very existence. This is totally unacceptable," he added, referring to calls by critics in Malaysia to use water as a leverage against Singapore.

Make seawater potable

Calling the water issue a "Damocles sword hanging over our heads," Goh said the disputes had bred mistrust and suspicion and "it may be better for bilateral relations if we start to move a little away from our reliance on Malaysia for water".

"This is doable if we have to do it," he said, citing a tender to build a plant to make seawater potable, and an ongoing project to recycle used water using membrane technology.

"The cost of these alternative sources of water is not all that prohibitive either," Goh said.

"We want to have good, stable relations with Malaysia for the long term and for mutual benefit. We shall play our part to achieve this.

Apart from water, the other bilateral irritants include use of Malaysian airspace by Singapore military aircraft and the future of Malaysian-owned railways and real estate in Singapore, which are part of broad negotiations that have been going on for years.

"Malaysia has written to us with their latest proposal on the bilateral package. We shall send them our reply some time next week," Goh said.

Singapore's land reclamation program also cropped up recently as another issue, but the city-state has vowed to go ahead with reclamation works within its territorial waters.



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