Water row heats up as S'pore retorts Malaysian press
Water row heats up as S'pore retorts Malaysian press
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
Singapore has reacted to a Malaysian media blitz over a long- running water supply dispute by accusing its neighbor of repeating "tired old arguments" that will not resolve the issue.
The Malaysian government placed full page advertisements in the four major Kuala Lumpur daily newspapers and The Asian Wall Street Journal over the weekend and on Monday accusing Singapore of profiteering from the arrangement.
"Malaysia gets nothing. Singapore gets rich," the ads state, claiming the Singapore government had tarnished the name of Malaysia around the world by making its case in the argument.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the ad campaign late on Monday, issuing a statement saying the media blitz was "puzzling".
"We do not know what they hope to achieve," the statement said.
"To make progress Malaysia must engage the substance of the facts. They need to go beyond old stories and repeating tired arguments."
The dispute stems from a deal finalized in 1965, when Singapore split from Malaysia and became independent, under which Malaysia supplies water to the resource-scarce city-state.
Malaysia sells the water to Singapore at three Malaysian sen (less than one U.S. cent) per 1,000 gallons (4,550 liters), but Kuala Lumpur wants a price increase.
The foreign affairs statement repeated Singapore's assertion that it offered to pay more for the water, but Malaysia rejected the proposed price hikes.
"It is on the record that Singapore offered to raise the price of raw water from 3 sen to 45 sen and later again to 60 sen as part of the package," the statement said.
"Malaysia first accepted this. Then they reneged on the deal and later arbitrarily asked for three ringgit (79 U.S. cents) and then more than six ringgit."
The statement said Malaysia then unilaterally called off the negotiations.
"The next step is arbitration, which is what the water agreements provide for... we have said we are ready.
"But instead of following up, they have resorted, six months later, to this ad campaign. This is puzzling."