Malaysia lost right to review price of water, says Shanmugam

Tan Qiuyi Channel NewsAsia 5 Mar 14;

SINGAPORE: Malaysia has lost the right to review the price of water.

Foreign Minister K Shanmugam stressed that this was under the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement.

He was responding to recent reports in the Malaysian media that Johor wishes to review the price of raw water sold to Singapore.

Mr Shanmugam said the Water Agreement is guaranteed by the Separation Agreement, which gave Singapore independence in 1965.

He said: "Both Agreements are international treaties which are vital to us, our sovereignty and our security. The terms… cannot be changed unilaterally."

Mr Shanmugam also gave an update on cooperation with Indonesia to fight the haze.

He said a media report on March 4 mentioned that the majority of an Indonesian parliamentary commission was, in principle, supportive of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

And this is welcome news because Indonesia is the only party that has yet to ratify the agreement.

Without Indonesia, the treaty cannot come into force.

Meanwhile, Singapore is also working to resume cooperation efforts in Jambi province, and officials on both sides have met several times.

Mr Shanmugam said: "This could help on the ground by providing technical assistance and capacity building capabilities to equip local farmers with alternative land-clearing methods, sustainable farming and zero-burning practices."

- CNA/gn