This agreement, the 1990 Water Agreement, led to the construction of Lake Linggiu, completed in 1993, to ensure the sustainable withdrawal of our demand for 250 million gallons of raw water per day from the Johor River. At the end of the day, water is only one of many bilateral areas of cooperation and we must not allow a single subject to colour relations that are generally positive and varied. We should move forward to see how we can work together and solve problems for mutual benefit and for the benefit of future generations. Several countries have overlapping maritime requirements in the South China Sea, and the waterway is a strategic advantage in navigation and fishing. China claims almost all of the territory under the so-called nine-line line, but its claim has not been internationally recognized. Other countries claiming a share of the South China Sea are the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore`s position has always been that Malaysia has lost its right to review the price of water under the 1962 water agreement. Neither Malaysia nor Singapore can unilaterally change the prices of raw and treated water set by the water agreements. Under the water agreements, Singapore johor pays 3 soft for a thousand gallons of raw water and Johor pays Singapore 50 soft for a thousand gallons of treated water. 50 senses represent only a fraction of the actual cost to Singapore for water treatment, including the construction and maintenance of the entire infrastructure of water treatment facilities. Malaysia has built a dam along the Johor River, near Kota Tinggi, to prevent seawater from entering upstream and affecting water abstraction in the Johor River. Members may not know how flat the Johor River is and seawater comes from the strait to Kota Tinggi. This barrage helped.

If Johor is unable to meet its obligations to provide us with 250 million gallons of raw water under the water agreement, it will have serious consequences. This would undermine the sanctity of the 1962 water agreement and seriously damage our bilateral relations. Members will recall that the 1962 Water Agreement is guaranteed by Malaysia under the 1965 Separation Agreement, and it is the sacred document on which we base our independence. On September 1, 1961, the Malaya Federation signed an agreement that caused Singapore to lose the right to extract up to 86 million imperial gallons (390,000 m3) of water per day from the Tebrau River, Skudai River, Pontian Reservoir and De Pulai Reservoir with effect until 2011. On September 29, 1962, another agreement was signed, granting Singapore the right to draw up to 250 million imperial gallons (1,100,000 m3) per day from the Johor River with effect until 2061. Both agreements provided for the price of 3 Malaysian cents for 1,000 imperial gallons (4,500 L). Foreign Minister `hopeful` of South China Sea deal If Malaysia had exercised the right to review the price of water in 1987, as provided for in the 1962 Water Agreement, Singapore might have made other investment decisions to develop the Johor River, including the Linggiu Dam. We have also been looking at the water performance and quality of the Johor River for a very long time. In 1990, PUB and the Johor State Government signed an agreement on the construction of Lake Linggiu to increase the yield of the Johor River and allow reliable withdrawal of the entire PUB requirements to 250 million gallons of water per day. This agreement complemented the 1962 water agreement. “We are also developing a few projects to ensure that Johor does not depend on Singapore`s supply in the coming years when it comes to treated water,” he said.

Measures must now be taken to protect the Johor River from pollution, increase the river`s yield and manage the total amount of river water flow. Singapore and Malaysia might otherwise find themselves in a very difficult situation, especially in dry weather conditions, and if, like me, you think climate change will make the situation worse. . . .