Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on the Johor state government to avoid making “indefensible” agreements with Singapore when water supply negotiations between both sides commence next year.
A new water deal is to be struck as the agreement to supply up to 325.54mil litres (86mil gallons) of water per day from Johor to Singapore at three sen per 3,785.4 litres (1,000 gallons) will end.
According to the expiring agreement, inked in 1961 and 1962, the price of raw and treated water can be renegotiated and changed if both parties agree. Should the raw water price be increased, Singapore too, would be entitled to revise the price of treated water.
“The question is whether we should maintain the rates as before or extract better terms,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his blog Wednesday.
“If both sides agree on this quantum of price increase, Singapore would actually earn more from selling treated water to Johor than Malaysia would earn from selling raw water to Singapore.
“For example, if under current terms, the water price is doubled to six sen per 1,000 gallons, Singapore can insist on the same percentage price increase by from 50sen per 1,000 gallons currently to RM1 per 1,000 gallons,” he added.
Raw water is supplied to Singapore from Johor’s Sungai Skudai, Sungai Tebrau, Sungai Johor and Gunung Pulai.
Dr Mahathir also said Johor was allocated sufficient money almost a decade ago to build its own treatment plants in order to stop buying treated water from Singapore.
“I am told that for reasons unknown, despite building its own treatment plant, Johor is still buying treated water from Singapore,” he said.
There are 42 water treatment plants operating in Johor.
He also pointed out that Malacca paid 10 times more than Singapore to buy raw water from Johor.
In the 2008 Auditor-General’s report, Malacca paid 30 sen for each 3,785.4 litres (1,000 gallons) of raw water supplied from Sungai Muar in Johor.
This was agreed upon in 1991 and Johor has a contract to supply water to Malacca till 2090.
“It seems that Johor is less generous towards Malacca than it is towards a foreign country. The wisdom of this escapes me,” Dr Mahathir said.
“Malaysian negotiators are unduly generous and we often provide ourselves with no exit clause,” he added.
He expressed hope that the public, especially the Johoreans, would be assured of a more justified water deal.
