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.