Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is really not letting up on his grievances about his country’s water pact with Singapore. Now, he’s calling on the citizens of Johor to rise up against the agreement, which set the price of water sold between the two countries back in 1962.
In his latest diatribe against Singapore, Mahathir believes that it is “morally wrong” that Singapore is “exploiting” Johor’s water. Speaking at the Johor government retreat in Putrajaya yesterday, the prime minister urged the Johor state government to speak out on the water deal, Bernama reported.
Interestingly (and oddly), Mahathir stated that Singapore managed to become one of the most developed nations in the world due to Malaysia supplying the country with water.
“Singapore rapidly developed because we have been supplying them with water, but I find the Johoreans rarely talk about it,” he said.
“The rich are depending on the poor? This is not only illogical but also morally wrong. We must put stress on this issue.”
Again he stressed the fact that Singapore is paying three cents for 1,000 gallons of raw water from Johor — the price agreed upon in the water agreement signed in 1962, and will only expire in 2061. Mahathir, however, did not mention how Malaysia did nothing when it had the chance to revise the prices 25 years after signing the contract. He was the Malaysian prime minister in 1987, after all.
“…this rich country is buying water from a poor country at an unfair price,” Malay Mail quoted him.
On the other hand, the government of Singapore remains staunch in keeping to the terms of the contract. If the contract is broken, the very terms of Singapore’s independence will be dubious as well.
“Under the 1962 Water Agreement, Singapore has the full and exclusive right to draw up to 250 million imperial gallons of water per day from the Johor River at a price of 3 sen per thousand gallons,” according to an article on Gov.sg.
“Any breach of the 1962 Water Agreement would call into question the Separation Agreement, which is the fundamental basis of Singapore’s very existence as an independent sovereign state. Neither Singapore nor Malaysia can unilaterally change the terms of this solemn agreement.”
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