S'pore, KL work to end water rift

S'pore, KL work to end water rift

HANOI (AP): Malaysia and Singapore said on Thursday they had
agreed to link an extension of their water-supply deal with other
issues.

Singapore, an island state, relies on Malaysia for water. The
100-year deal does not expire until 2061, but there already have
been preliminary discussions on whether and how to extend it.

Relations between the neighbors have been strained by
differences over the location of a border post in Singapore and
the cancellation of automatic flyover rights for Singaporean
military aircraft in Malaysian airspace.

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said his Malaysian
counterpart, Mahathir Mohamad, made the linkage suggestion during
a meeting Thursday morning after the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations summit.

There has been speculation that Malaysia would only renew the
deal if Singapore helped raise funds to finance Kuala Lumpur's
economic recovery efforts.