Mahathir says S'pore acted badly

Mahathir says S'pore acted badly

MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday said Singapore's public release of official correspondence over a protracted water dispute was not "nice" and showed a lack of faith by the island-state.

On Saturday, the Singapore government released 19 letters the two sides have exchanged over Malaysia's demand for higher prices for water it supplies to Singapore.

The water issue has proven a sore point in diplomatic ties between the two neighbors, who also are involved in a spat over competing claims on the islet of Pulau Batu Puteh in the shipping lanes of the Singapore Straits.

Singapore Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar told Parliament on Saturday that the letters were released in response to misinformation spread by Malaysia about the water dispute. Mahathir said the release of the letters reflected badly on Singapore's sincerity in resolving the dispute. --AP