I read with great interest the New Straits Times report on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s wish to renegotiate the “manifestly ridiculous” water deal with Singapore. Syabas, prime minister. It’s time someone told our southern neighbour to get real. Obviously, Dr Mahathir is just the right man.
Singapore needs to be realistic. Such an agreement is a commercial one. There is cost involved in getting the water piped to Singapore. Even Malaysians pay more. We are not swimming in money to subsidise Singapore, a sovereign country. It is a different story if Singapore was a poverty-stricken nation that needs the help of its neighbour to see it through another day. Singapore’s gross domestic product per capita in 2016 was RM212,000 and it wants water from Malaysia at three sen per 1,000 gallons. Malaysia’s GDP per capita, in the same year, was RM38,000. The agreement was signed in 1962 and this advanced neighbour of ours wants the price to reflect the world of the 20th century.
Singapore’s stand on the water deal is out of place. I think the word that best describes this kind of behaviour is “ludicrous”.
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Singapore's water supply will 'never be threatened': DPM Teo
Singaporeans can rest assured that the nation's water supply will remain secure, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean emphasised on Sunday (Jul 15).
Speaking at the 14th Punggol North Racial & Religious Harmony Street Parade, DPM Teo said it is important for Singapore to hold on to values such as self-reliance to build a strong, resilient country.
Raising Singapore's preparations for its water supply as an example, he said: "Singaporeans will never be short of water, will always have water & will never be threatened by anybody who wants to cut our water supply off."
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WE ONLY CHARGE SINGAPORE RM0.03 PER 1000 GALLONS OF WATER! WHY SO CHEAP?!
Malaysia and Singapore has never exactly been model BFFs like Kendall and Gigi. You see our leaders do the diplomatic handshake on TV and all, but from the time we went our separate ways, we’ve constantly poked, jabbed and trout slapped each other.
We gaduh over the crooked bridge, we gaduh over this really tiny island, what more with the recent cancellation of the high-speed rail (HSR), lagi gaduh la, gaduh some more.
Now PM Tun Dr. Mahathir wants to reopen an old wound that has been the cause of fighting between the two countries for over 90 yearrsss – the Malaysia-Singapore water deal. The deal works like this… we give Singapore 250 million gallons of raw water daily at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons, then Malaysia buys back a portion of that water, treated, at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.
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Three sen water price ridiculous! Dr M wants S'pore to dive deeper into its coffers
"I think it is manifestly ridiculous that we should sell water at 3 sen per thousand gallons. That was okay way back in the 1990s or 1930s. But now what can you buy with 3 sen? Nothing.
"We are studying the case properly and we’ll make a presentation," he told Channel NewsAsia. Under the current agreement which expires in 2061, Singapore receives 250 million gallons of raw water daily at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons. Malaysia then purchases back a portion of that at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television aired earlier today, Mahathir also touched on the water price issue. "Water is among the issues with Singapore that we need to settle. We will sit down and talk with them, like civilised people," he said.
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Johor Chief Minister suggests raising price of water sold to S’pore as much as 16-fold
The Johor government said on Thursday (July 5) that the time has come to raise the price of raw water it sells to Singapore, adding that it may ask for a price hike of up to 1,600% that it hopes the Republic would accept.
Speaking at a press conference, Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian said he had discussed with issue with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last week.
“It is about time that we increase (the price of raw water). Maybe, we will increase it to the price of raw water that we sell to Melaka (which is at 50 sen, or S$0.17 per thousand gallons),” Astro Awani reported him as saying.
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Johor chief minister suggests raising price of water sold to Singapore by almost 1600%
Johor's chief minister suggested on Thursday (Jul 5) that the state sell water to Singapore about 1600% more than the current price.
Speaking at a press conference, Osman Sapian said he had discussed the matter with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
He said that the new price would not be the same as the current one, which is 3 sen per thousand gallons of raw water.
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Johor Crown Prince thanks Singapore for helping Johor during drought seasons
Johor's Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has thanked the Singapore Government for helping the Malaysian state during drought seasons.
Calling Singapore "a neighbour & a friend", Tunku Ismail said in a tweet on his official JohorSouthernTigers account on Thursday (June 28): "Thank you to the Singaporean Government for helping Johor during the drought seasons & when we had our water crisis. We have always helped each other. May the close ties & friendship forged hundreds of years ago last forever."
His tweet came as the Malaysian government said it planned to renegotiate the 1962 water supply deal with Singapore.
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TMJ Thanks Singapore For Coming To Johor's Aid When The State Faced Water Crisis And Drought
The Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim yesterday took to social media to thank the Singaporean government for aiding the state during the long droughts and helping the state through water crisis.
Acknowledging Singapore as “a neighbour and a friend,” the 34-year-old royal relayed that, “we have always helped each other.
“May the close ties and friendship forged hundreds of years ago last forever,” he humbled conveyed via the Johor Southern Tigers’ Facebook and Twitter pages.
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Malaysians get hot under the collar
On Monday (July 2), English daily New Straits Times (NST) carried a letter arguing that Singapore's payment of 3 Malaysian sen (S$0.01) for 1,000 gallons of water from Johor "doesn't make sense".
The letter, written by someone with the acronym AHM, said Singapore needs to be realistic as no one can buy anything for 3 sen nowadays, noting that "3 sen didn't make sense even in 1962, what more in 2018". "There is cost involved in getting the water piped to Singapore. Even Malaysians pay more," said the writer.
"We are not swimming in money to subsidise Singapore, a sovereign country. It is a different story if Singapore was a poverty-stricken nation that needs the help of its neighbour to see it through another day."
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Malaysians Speak Out On Water Prices: “Increase Only La, They So Rich!”
It’s been just over a week since newly re-appointed Malaysian PM Tun Dr Mahathir said it was “manifestly ridiculous” to continue selling raw water to Singapore at the low price of 3 cents per 1000 gallons, and that he’s looking to review the 1962 bilateral agreement.
Now, following yesterday’s report that the Johor Chief Minister suggested raising the price of water by as much as 16 times, there’s been an uproar in the Singaporean community calling for blood (or water). On this side of the causeway (I’m based in KL), I only came to know about this issue through the Singaporean media. Literally no one around me was talking about the it.
Are Malaysians just politically ignorant? Are we so caught up in the recent election victory that nothing else matters in our eyes?
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How Malaysians Feel About The 3 Sen Water Saga
Nationalist Slant In Forum Letters Shows Malaysians Angry Over Water Issue
“It’s time someone told our southern neighbour to get real.” This comment in a letter to the New Straits Times sums up perfectly the feelings of many Malaysians over the water saga brewing between Malaysia and Singapore.
Last week, Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad expressed his wish to renegotiate the 1962 agreement between the two nations. Under the agreement, PUB can draw 250 million gallons of raw water from the Johor River daily at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons. In return, Johor can receive up to five million gallons of treated water every day, priced at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.
The ever-outspoken Dr M called this agreement “too costly” and “manifestly ridiculous”. And it appears that many Malaysians agree with him. Here are the arguments they made:
- Singapore is not poor
- The deal is “no longer workable”, so re-look lor
- We “lend” you land what
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NST Online Yesterday at 11:05 AM
"We are not swimming in money to subsidise Singapore, a sovereign country."
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Rehashing water discussions with Singapore trigger tensions amongst both locals and Malaysians alike
A few Malaysian media outlets have waded into the on-going water discussions between Singapore and Malaysia, offering commentaries, opinions and everything in-between.
On Monday, Malaysian media company New Straits Times (NST) published an article titled ‘Three sen for 1,000 gallons of water doesn’t make sense’, that expressed that the price of three Malaysian sen (S$0.01) for 1,000 gallons of water from Johor was “manifestly ridiculous”.
The writer, only known by the initials AHM, said that, “No one can buy anything for three sen let alone 1,000 gallons of water. Three sen didn’t make sense even in 1962, what more in 2018”.
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Mahathir’s 3 sen grumblings re-awaken Singaporeans to 30% water price hike
Come Sunday, 1 July, the second phase of the 30% water price hike kicks in
It could have passed without people even noticing. But Singaporeans are suddenly alive to it and there is talk again of WHY we must bear with such exorbitant price hikes – all because of the grumblings of the Malaysian Prime Minister.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that “it is manifestly ridiculous that we should sell water at 3 sen per thousand gallons” to Singapore. As expected, Singapore points to a legally-binding 1962 Water Agreement that both sides have to adhere to.
Nevertheless, the net effect is that we begin to wonder about a paltry 3 sen (paid by Singapore) versus a hefty 30% price hike (imposed on Singaporeans). At least the Malaysians had an agreement. What about Singaporeans? Did we sign an agreement for a 30% price hike?
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Water sold 550 times more to S’poreans than the 17 times to Malaysia?
Are we selling water to Singaporeans and Malaysia at 550 and 17 times more, respectively?
I refer to the article “Can PUB explain how we’re charged 550 times more after buying water from M’sia at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons?” (theonlinecitizen, Jun 25). It states that “So, it appears that PUB is buying water from Malaysia, under the 1962 water agreement, at 3 Malaysian sen per 1,000 (imperial) gallons or 3 Malaysian sen per 4.55 cubic meter. Converting to S$, this would translate to S$0.01 for 4.55 cubic meter, or S$0.0022 per cubic meter.
To summarize, PUB buys water from Malaysia at S$0.0022 per cubic meter and sells to Singaporean households 550 times more at S$1.21 per cubic meter (using the $1.21 rate, even excluding Water Conservation Tax and the Waterborne Fee). Can PUB give Singaporeans a breakdown how consumers are being charged 550 times more after buying from Malaysia only at S$0.0022 per cubic meter?”
The 30 per cent water price hike was announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat as he delivered Budget 2017 last year. The water price hike went into effect in two phases, with the first phase taking place in July 2017 and the second to be imposed this July. The water price hike is the first water price revision since 2000.
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Locals question 30 per cent water price hike since Singapore only pays Malaysia 3 sens for 1000 gallons
While some Singaporeans were anxious after Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad indicated that his government will possibly look into the “manifestly ridiculous” price of the water Malaysia sells to Singapore, others have expressed incredulity at the extremely low price of water sold from Malaysia and Singapore and have questioned why water-related fees here climb despite the low price.
This comes after Dr Mahathir singled out water as one of the issues Singapore and Malaysia need to iron out as he revealed, “they are still paying 3 sens for 1 thousand gallons. And once the 1000 gallons is returned we can buy back 12 per cent of that. At the same time they can sell 100 gallons for 17 Singapore Dollars. That is a lot of money.”
The 30 per cent water price hike was announced by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat as he delivered Budget 2017 last year. The water price hike went into effect in two phases, with the first phase taking place in July 2017 and the second to be imposed this July. The water price hike is the first water price revision since 2000.
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Can PUB explain how we’re charged 550 times more after buying water from M’sia at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons?
Bloomberg published an interview with Dr Mahathir today (25 Jun) saying that he would be seeking to renegotiate a longstanding water supply agreement with Singapore.
In the interview, Dr Mahathir commented that the 1962 water supply deal with Singapore is "too costly". Water is among issues with Singapore “that we need to settle,” he said. “We will sit down and talk with them, like civilized people.”
Singapore has relied on Malaysia for nearly half of its water needs through water agreements, the first of which dates back to 1927. The remaining 1962 accord, which expires in 2061, gives Singapore 250 million gallons of raw water daily at 3 Malaysian sen per 1,000 gallons, and Malaysia buys back a portion of that at 50 Malaysian sen per 1,000 gallons, Bloomberg reported.
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Are we selling water to Singaporeans and Malaysia at 550 and 17 times more, respectively?
I refer to the article “Can PUB explain how we’re charged 550 times more after buying water from M’sia at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons?” (theonlinecitizen, Jun 25).
It states that “So, it appears that PUB is buying water from Malaysia, under the 1962 water agreement, at 3 Malaysian sen per 1,000 (imperial) gallons or 3 Malaysian sen per 4.55 cubic meter. Converting to S$, this would translate to S$0.01 for 4.55 cubic meter, or S$0.0022 per cubic meter. To summarize, PUB buys water from Malaysia at S$0.0022 per cubic meter and sells to Singaporean households 550 times more at S$1.21 per cubic meter (using the $1.21 rate, even excluding Water Conservation Tax and the Waterborne Fee).
Can PUB give Singaporeans a breakdown how consumers are being charged 550 times more after buying from Malaysia only at S$0.0022 per cubic meter?”
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Singapore buys at 3 sen & sells back at 50 sen
Singapore still pays the rent for using the land and purchase also the dirty raw water from Johor, Malaysia at 3 sen (SGD $0.01) per 1,000 gallons. Singapore then sells the treated (and clean) water back to Johor at 50 sen (SGD $0.17) per 1,000 gallons. You think Singapore’s got ourselves a good deal here?
Not at all. In fact, we are selling the treated water to Malaysia at a loss. Real cost of the treated water – RM 2.40 (SGD $0.81) per 1,000 gallons. If you do the math, we are absorbing RM 1.90 (SGD $0.64) per 1,000 gallons for Malaysia. And apparently, Malaysia is purchasing 37 million gallons of water a day from us, which means Singapore has been subsidizing Malaysia RM 70,000 (SGD $23,693) a day. When it comes to making money, Malaysia definitely knows how to turn every opportunity into a cash cow.
Malaysia actually sells the treated water back to their own Johor citizens at RM 3.95 (SGD $1.34), which is at a hefty profit of 700% by the way. So Malaysia is profiting at least a whopping RM 127,650 (SGD $43,205) a day just by doing nothing. Such easy money.
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Water drama between M’sia and S’pore more drama than Taiwanese drama on CH8
Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, yesterday criticised that the price of raw water sold to Singapore is ridiculous. He wants to renegotiate the terms but also said it is “not urgent“.
We hope he’s serious and sincere about resolving the water issue because Mahathir left this issue hanging in 2002 before he stepped down as Prime Minister.
The water issue was never resolved during Mahathir’s time. Now that he’s back in power, this water issue has resurfaced.
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Some people asked why Singaporeans pay so much for water when we buy it for 3 sen per 1000 gallons from Malaysia
In an interview published by Bloomberg, Dr Mahathir said that he would be seeking to renegotiate a longstanding water supply agreement with Singapore. Dr Mahathir mentioned that Malaysia sells water to Singapore at RM0.03 per 1000 imperial gallons.
Some correspondent of an online publication in Singapore picked that up and asked this question: “Can PUB explain how we’re charged 550 times more after buying water from M’sia at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons?”
Totally silly question. Does this person think we can drink the raw water straight from buying from Malaysia? Or does this person think it doesn’t cost money to purify and treat the water?
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There is something in the water from Malaysia
According to the 1962 Water Agreement between the two countries, PUB can draw up to 250 million gallons (mgd) of water from the Johor River each day. In return, Johor is entitled to buy treated water of the same volume as up to 2 per cent of the water extracted by Singapore on any given day, or about 5 mgd if Singapore draws its full entitlement of water from the Johor River.
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STRATEGI MENDEPANI ‘HUJAH’ SINGAPURA
RAMAI yang tertanya-tanya apakah strategi Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad apabila berhadapan dengan kerenah jiran terdekat seperti Singapura kerana pada hakikatnya kedua-dua negara ini tidak pernah sunyi dengan pelbagai masalah. Hubungan Malaysia-Singapura dianggap begitu unik dan agak berbeza jika hendak dibandingkan hubungan Malaysia-Indonesia.
Bayangan strategi Dr. Mahathir dikatakan timbul dua minggu lalu apabila kerajaan memutuskan untuk tidak meneruskan isu tuntutan bertindih tiga entiti yang terletak di Selat Singapura iaitu Batu Puteh, Batuan Tengah dan Tubir Selatan. Tidak salah jika ada yang membuat anggapan Dr. Mahathir berhasrat mengekalkan hubungan akrab seperti yang berlaku ketika era bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Tetapi beberapa hari lalu apabila Dr. Mahathir menegaskan kadar harga air tiga sen bagi setiap 1,000 gelen air yang dibekalkan oleh Malaysia kepada Singapura sebagai tidak masuk akal, maka kenyataan itu dianggap sebagai isyarat awal bagaimana kerajaan akan berurusan dengan Singapura terutama sekali berhadapan dengan isu tertunggak.
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Mahathir revives water dispute with Singapore, calls 1962 deal 'ridiculous'
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is seeking to renegotiate a longstanding water supply deal with Singapore, criticising a 1962 agreement with the Republic as “too costly” & "manifestly ridiculous".
His remarks on the water issue, coming weeks after he announced plans to cancel a multibillion-dollar high-speed rail project that would have connected Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, raise further questions on how the new Malaysian government would handle bilateral ties with Singapore that have been on an even keel for an extended period.
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan responded indirectly to Dr Mahathir's comments on Monday (Jun 25) afternoon, posting a video on the Republic's quest for water security & remarking: "Why water has always been sacrosanct in Singapore."
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Everything you need to know about the Singapore-Malaysia Water Agreements
By now you should know that the water issue between Singapore and Malaysia is in the spotlight. AGAIN.
We’ve addressed the issue of why Singaporeans pay so much more for water when we buy it for 3 sen per 1,000 gallons from Malaysia here, and now we want to walk you through the history of the Water Agreements.
There’s a very important booklet, Water Talks, that the Singapore government published in 2003. It made public the key correspondence between Singapore and Malaysia on the water issue and it also included Ministerial statements and other key info. You can also download it here.
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6 Reasons Why The Singapore-Malaysia Water Dispute Is Still Dragging On After 57 Years
Why is Singapore so riled up over the price of raw water? Why can’t we just pay a few more cents for this headache to go away?
Turns out, it’s not money, but the significance of the Water Agreements that raises the stakes.
We take you through the main events in the history of our water dispute with Malaysia, so you’ll understand why the bugbear is here to stay.
- We enshrined the Water Agreements in our Separation Agreement
- Malaysia failed to request price reviews when she could
- We provided Malaysia with financial assistance in exchange for “Water Talks”
- Mind-boggling & frequent changes in Malaysia’s proposals
- “Water Talks” go nowhere, water issue decoupled
- S’pore didn’t extend past 2011 & handed our facilities over, too
Singapore should consider reviewing water agreement as a “gesture of goodwill,” given Malaysia’s RM 1 trillion debt: M’sia Finance Minister
Malaysia’s new Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has suggested that Singapore could review the 1962 water agreement as a “goodwill gesture” in light of the fact that Malaysia is in RM1 trillion debt, in a recent interview.
Speaking to local journalist Sumiko Tan, Lim touched on water tensions between Singapore and Malaysia that have resurfaced since Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad led the opposition to an unprecedented victory at the Malaysian polls in May and broke the former ruling party’s six-decade grip on power.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Dr Mahathir singled out water as one of the issues Singapore and Malaysia need to iron out in the future as he revealed, “they are still paying 3 sens for 1 thousand gallons. And once the 1000 gallons is returned we can buy back 12 per cent of that. At the same time they can sell 100 gallons for 17 Singapore Dollars. That is a lot of money.”
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Singapore-Malaysia relations: Both countries must fully respect sanctity of international agreements
Singapore is committed to engaging and cooperating with the new Malaysian government, said Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan in Parliament on Monday (Jul 9).
But working together, he stressed, must be on the basis that “both sides will fully respect the sanctity of international agreements, and that any disputes are resolved peacefully in accordance with international law".
Provided this condition is met, we are confident bilateral relations will prosper, for the mutual benefit of the citizens of both countries,” he said, in response to a parliamentary question filed by MP Christopher de Souza on the state of bilateral relations between both countries.
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related:
Malaysia and Singapore dispute over air and sea boundaries
Singapore's Water Issues
Water-Sharing Saga Between Singapore & Malaysia
3 sen for 1,000 gallons of water doesn't make sense
Looking at water price increase in perspective
Water price increase just to bring up awareness of importance of water
Old Mahathir could be frosty with Singapore: New Mahathir?
Dawn of a new era, in our own backyard!
In perverse fashion, the Malaysians might have done the PAP a favour
