Look elsewhere for extra water, Singapore told

MALAYSIA has asked Singapore to look elsewhere for its future water needs after the republic refused to budge from its demand that Johor double supply to the city state under a new 100-year agreement ending in 2161.

A Malaysian official said the Malaysian delegation led by Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohamed told Singapore on May 28 that it should not depend on Johor for such excessive supply as Malaysia needed to protect its own interests.

"We told them that morally, we are prepared to supply them the same volume of 350 million gallons daily (mgd) they now enjoy but cannot meet their demand for 750mgd in 150 years' time when we don't know what our own situation will be.

"Our rivers may not be as resourceful by then. How can Malaysia commit itself to a quantum? We told them they should source elsewhere, like in Indonesia, or build desalination plants.

"But Singapore refuses to listen. They point at Pahang's rivers and reject our explanation that Pahang's resources are earmarked for inter-state water transfer following last year's water crisis in the Klang Valley.

"Three meetings since March have failed to make headway on the issue. It does not look like there can be a solution because Singapore is not convinced that Malaysia has to look after its own requirements," he added.

Another official said the Singapore delegation led by its foreign ministry permanent secretary Tan Chin Tiong was adamant that Pahang's resources could fulfil their needs for 350mgd of raw water and 400mgd of treated water.

Tan's contention for the jump in demand is that Singapore's population will apparently hit seven million by then and that Singapore was only seeking 750mgd from Malaysia although its demand in 160 years would be 950mgd.

"The Malaysians were very amused. We were wondering where seven million Singaporeans are going to stay? We asked them when they expect the population to hit seven million. Tan's team said 'year X'," the official said.

The quantum Singapore is seeking will translate into 134 gallons per person.

Tan's team has likened Singapore's water needs to that of any big city. But KL has obtained global statistics which show that even in a mega-city like London, a person uses 76 gallons per day.

Malaysia, with its 34 percent water loss ratio, has an average comsumption per head which works out to only 112 gallons a day.

The Malaysians, however, do not see Singapore's population hitting anywhere near five million by then, but noted that Johor would have a population of between six million and seven million in 2161, which means Johoreans would need more water as well from the same rivers.

The KL delegation also raised the question of profits derived by Singapore from the existing water deal and made it clear to the republic that any new agreement must cover only the sale of treated water.

Under the existing agreements, Singapore pays Johor three sen per 1000 gallons of raw water. Singapore's revenue from the 250mgd it currently draws from Johor is about RM1.09bil, with profits hitting RM630mil.

That profit margin works out to 230 times the price Singapore pays for Johor's raw water under the lopsided agreements of 1961 and 1962 which bind Johor to supply raw water to the republic until the year 2061.

If Johor were to supply 250mgd of treated water to Singapore, its revenue would be RM460mil, with a profit of no less than RM85mil.

But the talks have been getting nowhere at all.

Singapore has not relented because the Prime Ministers of the two countries had agreed in Hanoi last December to address the water issue as a package with the other outstanding problems which include the Tanjung Pagar railway problem, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions and disputes over air space.

For the first time, Singapore has made public at the meeting that CPF contributions of Malaysian workers who have now returned to Peninsular Malaysia amounted to about RM3bil.

It has, however, not made any commitment to release the monies to these contributors although it allows Sabahans and Sarawakians to withdraw theirs when they leave the republic.

Tan's team, however, looks at the other issues as the backdrop to the water problem.

The Singaporeans had made it clear that how much they would be willing to give and take in the other issues would hinge greatly on how flexible KL was going to be over the new water supply agreement.

And Singapore makes no secret that it wants to continue drawing 350mgd of raw water for the next one-and-a-half centuries--paying no heed to Malaysia's contention that new agreements must be based only on purchase of treated water.

Nothing will probably be settled for a while.

It is in Singapore's interest to reach a new agreement quickly. But to do that, it has to stop being a wet blanket