Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has criticised Singapore for construction work on a disputed island, a report said today.

But, "short of going to war," there was little Malaysia could do to deal with the situation on Batu Puteh island off Johor state, Mahathir was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times .

Singapore did not always observe international norms and Malaysia had problems dealing with it, he said.

"When we deal with Singapore, we often face problems because it goes beyond accepted norms.

"By rights, when the ownership of the island is in dispute, there should not be development or construction activities there."

Mahathir's angry remark was backed by some 50 members of his ruling Barisan Nasional coalition who held a rare noisy protest outside the Singapore High Commission here.

In the hour-long protest, demonstrators hoisting posters that read "No more water for betrayal," denounced the republic's construction and demanded it vacate Batu Putih immediately.

Negative conequences

A protest note was later passed to a Singapore official by Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir, deputy National Front youth chief, urging that Singapore cease all construction, depart the island and allow the Malaysian government to land for inspections.

"Failure to address the matter amicably will indefinately bear negative consequences for both parties," it warned.

"Singapore's action is an insult to Malaysia. Our land should not be seized by anyone," Abdul Aziz told reporters outside the mission.

Malaysia supplies resource-starved Singapore with half its daily water needs. But Kuala Lumpur has decided to stop negotiations with Singapore and is to seek legal recourse for a price review of water supplied to the republic.

Mahathir said Malaysia would like the issue to be resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar protested against Singapore's actions.

Let ICJ decide

Mahathir said Malaysia would like the issue to be resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Singapore's claim to the rocky island is partially based on the lighthouse it has maintained there since 1851. Malaysia in response says it has had sovereignty over the island since the early 16th century.

Syed Hamid said as the two sides had agreed to file the case to the ICJ, Singapore should have postponed its construction of a two-storey building and a helicopter landing strip.

Singapore has placed a permanent marine patrol unit in the area and installed a radar tower to monitor ships.

The dispute began when Singapore first claimed the island in 1980, 25 years after declaring independence from Malaysia after it was booted from the Malaysian Federation. It earned its independence in 1965.

Last Thursday, Syed Hamid said a draft special agreement had been prepared to take the dispute to the ICJ.

Malaysia last week celebrated its win in a territorial dispute with Indonesia over the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan and announced it had set its sights on other offshore claims, including Batu Puteh.

The ICJ ruling for Malaysia ended a three-decade wrangle with Indonesia. AFP