Comments that Singapore land reclamation caused M'sia floods "unfounded"

The Straits Times, January 31, 2007



SINGAPORE has said that comments by a Malaysian official blaming land reclamation by Singapore near the Malaysian mainland for the recent flooding in southern Johor state are "unfounded".

The New Straits Times reported on Wednesday that the reclamation on Tekong island, east of mainland Singapore and opposite the mouth of Malaysia's Johor river, caused the flooding in December and January, quoting Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman.

The floods left 17 people dead and forced about 100,000 people to be evacuated, Mr Abdul Ghani said.

He said the reclamation led to the narrowing of the mouth of the Johor river, slowing the discharge of excess rain water into the Johor Straits. This led to the river bursting its banks in Kota Tinggi, the worst affected town where streets and many homes were submerged.


Singapore's response

A Singapore Ministry of National Development spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday:

"The comments are unfounded. This is confirmed by the results from technical studies that were commissioned separately by both the Malaysian government and the Singapore government as part of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) dispute settlement proceedings on Singapore's land reclamation works at Pulau Tekong and Tuas View Extension.

"A coastal hydraulic study undertaken by the Malaysia's Department of Irrigation and Drainage in September 2002 on the impact of Singapore's reclamation works concluded that there are no appreciable changes to the water levels within the Straits of Johor for the flood flows of 1:50 year or 1:100 year return periods. As such, the study concluded that there is no increased flooding due to Singapore's reclamation works. A separate Environmental Impact Assessment report prepared by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia commissioned by the Malaysian government reported similar findings.

"Technical studies commissioned separately by the Singapore government in 2003 also reached the same conclusions.

"In fact, based on the results of these studies, the Group of Experts which both governments appointed to study the impact of the reclamation works had recommended that it would not be necessary for the flood impact to be further assessed by the technical consultant appointed for the Joint Study. This was accepted by both governments .

"There is therefore no scientific basis to the allegations that the flooding is caused by Singapore's land reclamation works at Pulau Tekong".

Mr Abdul Ghani's spokesman could not be immediately reached to confirm the report.

Singapore started reclaiming land in 2002 along the eastern and western parts of the Johor Straits near the Malaysian mainland.

The NST said Malaysia launched international arbitration proceedings against Singapore in Oct 2003, and sought a stoppage of land reclamation work, saying it had narrowed the shipping lanes around the Johor Straits.

The Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, however, ruled that the reclamation work can continue but ordered both sides to set up an independent group of experts to study the impact, the NST said.

Malaysia's government is facing a 1.5 billion ringgit (S$662 million) bill for helping the flood victims and repairing roads and schools. Losses to the agricultural sector alone are estimated to be in the range of 140 million ringgit. -- AP