Parliament: S'pore ready to discuss water issue with Malaysia, although its legal stance stays the same: Dr Balakrishnan

SINGAPORE - Both Singapore and Malaysia have benefited from the 1962 Water Agreement, and must continue cooperating "effectively and urgently" to meet future challenges, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (March 2).

Stressing that water is one of many issues they collaborate on, he added: "We must not allow any single issue to colour the overall positive and multi-faceted relationship. We should look ahead to see how we can cooperate and resolve issues for mutual benefit, and for the benefit of future generations."

He also said Singapore is prepared to discuss issues relating to the water agreement with Malaysia, including the price, yield and quality of water from the Johor River.

But its legal position - that Malaysia has lost the right to review the price of water under the agreement - remains unchanged, he said during the debate on his ministry's budget.

Dr Balakrishnan noted that former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had expressed his desire to revise the price of raw water sold to Singapore on several occasions. Malaysia subsequently made proposals on a new price for raw water.

"In the spirit of bilateral cooperation, but without prejudice to our position that Malaysia has lost the right of review, we have been willing to listen to and discuss Malaysia's proposals, on the basis that there is a balance of benefits for both sides," Dr Balakrishnan said.

He added that he had also held preliminary talks on the issue with Mr Saifuddin Abdullah, Malaysia's former foreign affairs minister, last December and January this year.

Singapore has made it clear to Malaysia that any review of the price of raw water sold to Singapore will also mean a review of the price of treated water sold to Johor, Dr Balakrishnan said.

Both sides must also discuss the yield and quality of the water from the Johor River, so that Singapore can continue to draw the amount of water it is entitled to under the water agreement, he added.

Under the agreement, which expires in 2061, Malaysia provides 250 million gallons of raw water to Singapore daily, at a rate of 3 sen per 1,000 gallons. In return, Malaysia buys back the treated water from Singapore at a rate of 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.

In his speech, Dr Balakrishnan noted that Malaysia has built two water treatment plants which are drawing water upstream of Singapore's Johor River Waterworks. The volume of water that these plants draw from the river, in addition to Singapore's entitlement, exceeds the river's sustainable yield.

There have also been several pollution incidents in the Johor River, which have caused a temporary shutdown of Singapore's waterworks on multiple occasions.

To mitigate these issues, the Linggiu Reservoir was built in 1993 so that Singapore would be able to reliably draw its daily entitlement of water. Malaysia also built a barrage along the river, at Kota Tinggi, to keep seawater from intruding upstream.

"But more needs to be done urgently. Johor's water needs are increasing, as its economy and population grow," Dr Balakrishnan said, noting that Johor's own supplies have run short from time to time, forcing the state to impose water rationing and buy extra treated water from Singapore.

"Steps need to be taken and taken now to protect the Johor River from pollution, to enhance the yield of the river and to manage the total amount of water being drawn from the river," he added. "Singapore and Malaysia could otherwise end up in a very difficult situation down the road, especially in dry weather conditions and if you believe, as I do, that climate change will make the situation worse."

There will be "grave consequences" if Malaysia cannot uphold its end of the agreement, he said, adding: "It would undermine the sanctity of the 1962 Water Agreement and severely damage our bilateral relationship."

Singapore is prepared to hold discussions with Malaysia to head off such an eventuality, without prejudice to its legal position, he said.

"We are even willing to discuss the possibility of Singapore sharing the cost of pollution control measures, and new schemes to increase the yield of the Johor River, since this is important for both sides."

Dr Balakrishnan added that Singapore is exploring a "practical, durable and mutually beneficial solution" for both sides. But if they cannot reach an amicable outcome through negotiation, Singapore is then prepared to resolve the issue by arbitration on mutually agreed terms - similar to how other bilateral issues have previously been resolved.

This was agreed to by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Dr Mahathir at the ninth leader's retreat last April.

"I have explained all this in some detail so that both Malaysians and Singaporeans will appreciate that we are taking a consistent, constructive and mutually beneficial approach to the development of water infrastructure in Johor," Dr Balakrishnan said.

He expressed the hope that Singapore will be able to pick up where it left off when new Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's Cabinet is formed, continuing their discussions on water and other outstanding issues.