Singapore has reiterated that both Malaysia and the Republic have to adhere fully to the 1962 water agreement, after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday criticised the price of raw water sold to Singapore as "ridiculous" and said he planned to renegotiate the pact's terms. In his latest salvo, he said it was “manifestly ridiculous” that Kuala Lumpur sells water for three Malaysian cents (less than one US cent) per thousand gallons to its resource-poor neighbour, under a decades-old agreement. In separate interviews with Channel NewsAsia (CNA) and Bloomberg Television, Dr Mahathir revived the water price issue, which was a recurring source of tension between the two countries especially during the later half of his previous term as prime minister between 1981 and 2003. Asked about plans to renegotiate the water supply agreement, he said: “We are studying the case properly and we’ll make a presentation.”

 Much of Singapore’s water comes from Malaysia’s southern state of Johor. WATER AGREEMENT "SACROSANCT" TO SINGAPORE

In a response to Dr Mahathir's comments later on Monday, the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said both Malaysia and Singapore must "comply fully" with the provisions of the 1962 Water Agreement and the 1965 Separation Agreement. A spokesperson for Singapore’s foreign ministry responded in an emailed statement, saying: “The 1962 Water Agreement is a fundamental agreement that was guaranteed by both governments in the 1965 Separation Agreement which was registered with the UN. In a joint statement issued after a Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat, both counties also affirmed the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement, under which Singapore is given full and exclusive rights to draw up to a maximum of 250 million gallons (mgd) of water per day from the Johore River. In return, Johor is entitled to buy treated water of the same volume as up to 2 per cent of the water extracted by Singapore on any given day, or about 5 mgd if Singapore draws its full entitlement of water from the Johore River.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announces his intention to renegotiate a 1962 water agreement with Singapore, which the latter country regards as sacrosanct.