Water dispute with S'pore may need court help: Syed Hamid
Foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar reiterated today that a water dispute with neighbouring Singapore may have to be resolved in court if the tiny republic fails to demonstrate a desire to negotiate a settlement.
"Do you want to negotiate for a settlement or do you want the matter to be resolved in court?" he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.
"If you talk about the fact that there is no right to review, that is a legal position, let it be resolved in the court of law."
Syed Hamid said the attitude of Singapore, fond of publicly seeking to undermine the integrity of Malaysia's leadership in parliamentary sessions or through the media, was not good for bilateral relations.
The government might have to go to courts to resolve the water dispute with Singapore if the republic shows lack of interest in an amicable settlement, says Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.
Foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar reiterated today that a water dispute with neighbouring Singapore may have to be resolved in court if the tiny republic fails to demonstrate a desire to negotiate a settlement.
"Do you want to negotiate for a settlement or do you want the matter to be resolved in court?" he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.
"If you talk about the fact that there is no right to review, that is a legal position, let it be resolved in the court of law."
Syed Hamid said the attitude of Singapore, fond of publicly seeking to undermine the integrity of Malaysia's leadership in parliamentary sessions or through the media, was not good for bilateral relations.
Wanted: equity and fairness
Singapore has profited from the water, which was not only used for drinking but also for industry and other purposes, he said.
"We do not complain but what we want is an equitable and a fair price for our water," he was quoted as saying.
Commenting on the same issue, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia had every right to review the price of water, noting that Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew met him twice to talk about revising the price.
"I can't understand Singapore. If we don't have the legal right, then why did Lee Kuan Yew come and see me and suggested that the water price should be revised upwards to 45 sen and then we said it should be 60 (sen), 15 sen more?" the premier said
"Now they are saying that we have no right."
Singapore's Foreign Minister S Jayakumar responded to questions in parliament yesterday that if the dispute ended in a stalemate, it was prepared to take the matter to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague.
The Singapore-Malaysia dispute centres on the price of water supplied by Malaysia to Singapore under two agreements, one ending in 2011 and the other in 2061.
Malaysia wants the water supply issue to be negotiated independently from other bilateral matters. Singapore, however, wants the water talks to be part of a package of issues that have rankled bilateral relations since the island was ejected from the Malaya Federation in 1965. AFP
