Malaysia hopeful of second-phase negotiations on water with Singapore

Malaysia is hopeful that Singapore will agree to enter into negotiations on the second phase of the 1962 Water Agreement, which involves price modality, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said today.

Stressing that the next phase would be a “difficult one,” he said Singapore is not refusing to discuss price modality, but will find that the matter is “delicate.”

“For us (Malaysia), we are now entering the second phase of negotiations where we should be discussing price modality. 

"To be fair to my colleague from Singapore, I think they have not changed position.

“I think they would find it difficult to accept that we are already into the second phase of negotiations,” he told reporters after officiating at the International Seminar on Global Issues at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Saifuddin was responding to a question on how arbitration would work to resolve the long-standing water issue between the two countries.

- Bernama