Asked about Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's latest comments on water yesterday, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told the House in no uncertain terms that those remarks were "a red herring".
The minister stressed that the 1962 water agreement between Singapore and Malaysia "is not about who is richer or poorer", but about the fundamental principle of respecting the sanctity of agreements. Under the agreement, Singapore buys water from Malaysia at the price of three sen per 1,000 gallons. It sells treated water to Malaysia at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons, a fraction of the cost of treatment.
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