PUTRAJAYA: Singapore has raised with the Malaysian government its concerns about pollution in the Johor River as well as its long-term yield, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Apr 9), adding that it is in both countries' interests to work together to ensure sustainable water supply.
Mr Lee was speaking at a joint press conference during the Leaders’ Retreat alongside his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad.
Advertisement[h=3]READ: Singapore and Malaysia - the water issue[/h][h=3]READ: Johor government, people must speak up on water deal with Singapore - Mahathir[/h]He noted that just last week, Singapore's PUB waterworks at Kota Tinggi was forced to shut down because of high ammonia levels.
The Johor River had become polluted after a reservoir at a bio-composite centre next to an oil palm refinery in Sedenak burst, causing the contaminated water to flow into the water body.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAccording to Malaysia media reports, about 17,000 homes in the Malaysian town of Kulai had their water supply disrupted because of the incident.
Mr Lee said that if the Johor River suffers an incident like the recent one at Kim Kim River, the effects “will be disastrous for both countries”.
In March, thousands were taken ill after an illegal dumping of chemical waste into the Kim Kim River in Pasir Gudang, Johor. Many were hospitalised, including students at nearby schools. More than 100 schools were ordered shut as a result. Nine people were later arrested.
[h=3]READ: Singapore has been "clear and consistent" that Malaysia has lost right to review price of water: MFA[/h][h=3]READ: Singapore, Malaysia to continue talks to understand positions on right to review water price[/h]SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY WILL REDUCE POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT
At the joint press conference, Mr Lee noted that Johor has built water plants on the Johor River, upstream of PUB’s waterworks at Kota Tinggi.
He said that these plants, together with PUB's Kota Tinggi water works, could possibly draw more water than the river can sustain.
There is a need to study how to meet both Johor and Singapore’s water requirements for the remainder of the Water Agreement, he added.
The 1962 Water Agreement, which expires in 2061, entitles Singapore to draw up to 250 million gallons a day (mgd) of water from the Johor River.
Singapore pays 3 sen per thousand gallons of raw water and sells treated water back to Johor at 50 sen per thousand gallons, a fraction of the cost of treating the water.
Johor is meanwhile entitled to a daily supply of treated water of up to 2 per cent or 5 mgd of the water supplied to Singapore. In practice, however, Singapore has been supplying 16 mgd of treated water to Johor at its request.
Malaysia had previously acknowledged that it chose not to ask for a review of the agreement in 1987 because it benefited from the pricing arrangement.
READ: Ammonia pollution in Sungai Sayong disrupts water supply to 17,000 households in Malaysia's Kulai
[h=3]READ: Pasir Gudang chemical poisoning: What we know so far[/h]"It is in both countries' interests to work together to ensure sustainable water supply for both sides, which will reduce the potential for further conflict in the future," said Mr Lee.
He added: "We agreed that our two AGs (Attorney-Generals) should continue their dialogue, and understand each other's perspectives and concerns."
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