SINGAPORE — Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah has slammed his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan for his “reckless” comments, which the former said insinuated that Malaysia is not respecting the 1962 Water Agreement and that the country has problems with governance.

At Malaysia’s parliamentary sitting on Tuesday (March 12), Mr Saifuddin added that Malaysia will seek international arbitration if Singapore does not renegotiate the 1962 agreement.

He also expressed shock over Dr Balakrishnan’s remarks on the decades-old issue of water prices, which has again become a contentious issue in recent months.

On March 1, Dr Balakrishnan had rebutted Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s comments which sought to paint Singapore as a “rich nation” paying its poorer neighbour an “unreasonable rate” for water.

Speaking in Parliament, Dr Balakrishnan had pointed out that Singapore and Malaysia “have chosen different fundamental philosophies of governance and taken different paths of development”.

Singapore has a zero-tolerance approach on corruption and has provided a “framework where all our citizens strive to do our best and can achieve their potential by the dint of our efforts”, he said.

Dr Balakrishnan also added that Singapore honours its international agreements and commitments and that he would leave it to its citizens to decide whether the country had been “fair” or “morally wrong” in the pricing of water.

On Tuesday, Mr Saifuddin took issue with what he said was Dr Balakrishnan’s insinuation that Malaysia has a problem with its governance.

"That is a malicious accusation, it is hitting below the belt," said Mr Saifuddin.

He reiterated that Dr Balakrishnan was also wrong in saying that Malaysia cannot review the agreement after 25 years.

Dr Balakrishnan had repeatedly said that Malaysia had lost its right to review the price of water under that agreement, and that it had also chosen not to seek a review in 1987 as it acknowledged that it had benefited from the pricing arrangement.

However, Mr Saifuddin maintained that there is a clause in the agreement that states its content can be reviewed after 25 years.

"So I don't understand what English is used by the Singaporean Foreign Minister to interpret it in such a manner," Mr Saifuddin said in parliament. He was responding to Malaysian lawmakers who asked about the terms of the water agreement, among others.

S’PORE GETS RM42 MILLION IN ANNUAL WATER SUBSIDIES

Commenting on the subsidies that Singapore said it had provided to Malaysia for treated water, Mr Saifuddin said that Malaysia had also given subsidies of up to RM2.4 billion (S$0.8 billion) — which is about RM42 million a year, or RM100,000 a day — in selling raw water to its neighbour since the agreement took effect.

He also pointed out the need for Malaysia, especially its southern state of Johor, to reduce dependence on water supply from its neighbour.

If Singapore insists that it does not want to negotiate on the agreement, he added, then Malaysia “will bring it to the international arbitration and when we reach such a level, I hope the lawmakers here will give us the support to do so”.

TODAY has contacted Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comments.

Mr Saifuddin’s comments on the water price issue are the latest by a Malaysian leader in recent weeks.

On Feb 28, Dr Mahathir reportedly said that it did not make sense for a wealthy country such as Singapore to still be buying water from Malaysia at such a low price of 3 sen for every 1,000 gallons. He added that Singapore has grown rapidly because of Malaysia’s supply of water.

That led to Dr Balakrishnan issuing a firm rebuttal during his ministry’s Budget debate in Parliament on March 1, saying that Dr Mahathir’s comments were a “red herring” intended to rouse public opinion.

Hours later, Johor’s Chief Minister Osman Sapian waded into the issue, saying that Johor may stop relying on the treated water it buys from Singapore. He added that there are plans for the state to treat its own water although it is still in the early stages.

THE WATER AGREEMENT

Singapore buys water from Malaysia under water agreements signed in 1961 and 1962. The first expired in 2011 and the second will expire in 2061.

The pacts were guaranteed by the Malaysian government in the Separation Agreement that established Singapore as a sovereign state in 1965.

The 1962 water pact which will lapse in 2061 gives Singapore the right to buy 250 million gallons of water a day from the Johor River, at the rate of 3 sen per 1,000 gallons.

In return, Johor is entitled to buy back a daily supply of treated water from Singapore, of up to 2 per cent of the raw water it supplied, at the rate of 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.

Singapore has said that the cost of treatment is in fact RM 2.40 per 1,000 gallons while Malaysia sells the treated water to Johor citizens at RM3.95 per 1,000 gallons.

The Republic has also supplied additional treated water to the state of Johor at its request.

For example, between Jan 2 and 4 this year, Singapore supplied additional treated water to Johor when it needed more water because its water plants experienced disruption due to pollution, Dr Balakrishnan told Parliament on March 1.