Malaysia must honour commitment to supply water to Singapore: Anwar

 

Malaysia must honour its commitment to supply water to Singapore, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In a joint press conference with his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong in the republic today, Anwar said both countries should not focus purely on the price mechanism.

Instead, he said, there is a need for both countries to work together on enhancing the capacity of the Johor River to ensure that the river is able to cater to the needs of Johor as well as the island republic.

“We should also look at the possibility of Singapore participating in a joint effort, both in terms of study - which can be conducted immediately - and also in terms of management of Johor River, particularly with the Johor state,” he said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim holding joint press conference with his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong

Under the current water agreement which expires in 2061, Singapore receives 250 million gallons of raw water daily at three sen per 1,000 gallons. Malaysia then purchases back a portion of that at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.

In 2018, then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he wanted to increase the price of raw water supply to Singapore by more than 10 times to reflect the higher cost of living.

In a separate development, Lee said both countries are currently conducting a feasibility test on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ),

This, he said, was to find out what both the countries want the project to focus on and to look into where there is interest from investors and market demand.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meeting with new Singapore president Tharman Shanmugaratnam

He said both countries will then sign a memorandum of understanding based on the outcome of the study, which he hoped will be concluded by early next year.

“Preliminarily, I think there are three things you want to do (in the SEZ).

“Firstly, improving the flow of goods between the two sides because SEZ may mean special tax arrangements and bonded warehouses – and therefore, more easy border flows.

“Secondly, better and easier arrangements for the flow of people who have to work on both sides of the causeway. They can go in and out, and then the companies in the SEZ are able to get the personnel they need, the right mix of professionals, skilled workers and other general workers.

“And thirdly, for the SEZ to enhance the ecosystem of the Iskandar development region as well as Singapore.”

In July this year, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said that Malaysia and Singapore had agreed to set up a special task force to study the establishment of the Johor-Singapore SEZ.

Rafizi said the special task force would report its progress to the leaders when they meet at the 10th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat beginning today. - Mkini