 |
|
Singapore may resort to recycling used water
|
By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL South East Asia Correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, September 8 (IslamOnline) - Malaysia and Singapore are currently
embroiled in a strange battle for water supply and demands that have
left the two countries wondering whether the issue could ever be
resolved amicably, news agencies reports on Sunday.
This
issue has been in the news for too long for any one in the region to
believe it is going to be resolved any time soon.
The
tiny Island of Singapore depends largely on water sources from its
neighbors, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is desperate to secure the best
and cheapest deals from Malaysia but the latter country now wants a hike
in prices, something the Singaporeans are not ready to accept,
IslamOnline was told.
Malaysian
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Friday that he also wants a time
frame in resolving the dispute over the price of water supplied by
Malaysia because the impasse should not be allowed to drag on, Bernama
news agency said on Sunday.
He
said Malaysia might want to resort to arbitration to settle the water
issue with Singapore, which would prove the extent of the differences
between the neighbors.
He
said Singapore did not seem prepared to accept the reality that the
price it is paying for water now is too low. Singapore buys “rough”
water from Malaysia that it then converts into distilled or drinking
water and exports back to Malaysia at a higher price.
Malaysian
officials say the country is selling the water at a “too low price to
Singapore” and that it has to be revised. This has caused the current
glut in the bilateral negotiations.
“If
worse comes to worse, we may have to go for arbitration,” said the
Malaysian leader adding that Singapore must realize “that they cannot
impose on us like this.”
The
latest talks on the outstanding bilateral issues last week between the
two countries hit a snag when both countries did not agree on whether
water should be separated from the package of issues that is affecting
their relationships.
Singapore
believes it is better to settle the issues as a package so that
compromises can
be made to get a deal.
Malaysia
insisted however that the water issue should be separated only for
Mahathir to indicate on Friday that Malaysia would not have any
objections if water were still discussed
together with the other issues.
Besides
water, the package of issues include the re-development of Malayan
Railway land in Singapore, the early withdrawal of Central Provident
Fund (CPF) money by workers from peninsular Malaysia who worked in
Singapore, the use of Malaysian airspace by the Republic of Singapore
Air Force and the building of a bridge to replace the Causeway which
links Singapore to Malaysia.
Singapore
is “upset” that it might not get water supply from Malaysia. It is
now trying to build a new water source within the Island called the New
Water that will convert used water into drinking water.
This
has sparked remarks from Malaysian officials and newspapers that soon
Malaysians would drink toilet water in Singapore, causing more
irritation in the relationships
between the two states.
Mahathir
repeatedly said that Malaysia would be happy if Singapore stopped buying
Malaysian water. Singapore has contracted water supply from
Indonesia’s Riau province that has guaranteed the tiny island of water
supply from 2010 onwards.
The
rich island is now trying to secure a “good enough” deal to survive
until 2010 when it appears there will be no more Malaysia-Singapore
water deals, an official in Indonesia
said.
“If
they feel they can source water from elsewhere, we are quite happy about
it. We are not making money and our finances are not dependent on the
sale of water to Singapore,” Mahathir said.
He
also contended that if Singapore chooses to use recycled water, the
treatment cost would still be more expensive than the new pricing
formula Malaysia has proposed.
“If
they source raw water from us, even if the price is raised and they add
the cost of treatment, it will still be cheaper. But it is their
choice,” he said.
However
observers are asking whether the water woes are just the cover up of a
bigger “problem” between the two nations.
