Water agreements: It’s not simply a matter of water price

NSTOnline, May 26, 2007
By SHIVAKUMAR NAIR for Singapore High Commission Kuala Lumpur



DATUK Deva M. Ridzam, in his commentary,"Saying goodbye to past stresses and strains" (NST, May 21) , made assertions on the water issue which are fundamentally inaccurate. Ridzam wrongly stated that the 1961 and 1962 agreements between the Johor government and the Singapore City Council ("the Water Agreements") are "commercial contracts" between Singapore and Malaysia.

On the contrary, the water agreements are not ordinary or "commercial" agreements.

These are binding international agreements duly confirmed and guaranteed by both the Malaysian and Singapore governments in the Separation Agreement that established Singapore as a sovereign state in 1965, and registered at the United Nations.

Both countries are, therefore, bound by international treaty obligations to honour observance of the water agreements and neither side can unilaterally vary their terms and conditions.

Ridzam was thus mistaken to describe the price of water under the water agreements as "a straightforward case of what is a fair price between ‘a willing seller and a willing buyer’".

Johor is bound by the water agreements to sell water to Singapore at a specified price.

The agreements provide a mechanism for the price to be reviewed and for disputes to be resolved through the process of arbitration.

Singapore has made clear its willingness to resolve the matter through arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the agreements.

Therefore, it is not simply a matter of price; rather, it is how the agreement on the new price is reached by both sides.