KL, S'pore talks on water end without agreement

KL, S'pore talks on water end without agreement

SEAN Yoong, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

The foreign ministers of Malaysia and Singapore ended two days of
talks on Tuesday without resolving disputes over water prices and
other long-standing issues.

"The meeting has achieved some progress and provided momentum
for both sides to continue the negotiations in resolving the
package of issues," a joint press statement said.

A second ministerial meeting will be held in Singapore,
tentatively in August.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters
that the talks in Singapore would center on issues including
proposals for a 100-year accord on water supply that would take
effect in 2061, the location of Malaysian immigration facilities
in Singapore, and use of Malaysian air space by Singapore's air
force.

Other thorny issues to be discussed separately are the price
that Singapore currently pays for Malaysian water and a proposal
to build a new bridge linking the countries.

"It is obvious that much work remains to be done to narrow the
differences that still exist between the two sides on all the
issues before us," Syed Hamid said in a statement.

Syed Hamid and his Singaporean counterpart, Shanmugam
Jayakumar, had expressed cautious optimism Monday that they could
settle the differences, but said if any major ones remained, they
would be referred to the prime ministers of both countries.

Jayakumar did not speak to reporters after Tuesday's meeting.

Relations between the countries are usually cordial but can
turn testy. Water is an emotional issue, since Malaysia supplies
the island city-state with about half of its supply and wants to
increase the price.

Under agreements signed in the early 1960s that run until
2061, Singapore pays Malaysia three sen (0.8 cents) per 1,000
Imperial Gallons (1,200 U.S. gallons or 4,540 liters) of raw
water.

At bilateral talks last September, Singapore offered to raise
the rate to 45 sen (11.8 cents) - 15 times more than the current
price - until 2061 and 60 sen (15.8 cents) after that.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently described
the current price as "ridiculous" and noted that Hong Kong pays
mainland China eight ringgit (US$2.10) for the same amount of
water.