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Bhavan Jaipragas

“Not anti-Singapore. I claim to be pro-Malaysia.”
That was Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s response when asked by the South China Morning Post to comment on public sentiment in Singapore that blames him personally for a downturn in the relationship between the countries.
Ties have become somewhat fraught since Mahathir returned to power last May. In sharp contrast to the warmth Singapore felt from Malaysia during the era of the now-disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak, the neighbours in recent months have bickered over a range of issues.
The tensions have rekindled memories of Mahathir’s first stint as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.


In the exclusive interview with the Post, Mahathir zoomed in on one bilateral issue he has complained about for years – the price Singapore pays his country for fresh water.
He stuck to his guns that the republic was profiteering by not budging on the price of 3 Malaysian sen per thousand gallons of water, set in the 1960s.
‘Chinese by nature are very good businesspeople’: Mahathir’s exclusive interview in full
Mahathir claims the price was set in the 1920s as part of a pact between the former colonial administrators and the southernmost Malaysian state of Johor that supplies the water.

Singapore disputes this, claiming the island received water during the colonial era free of charge, apart from the cost of renting the waterworks and catchment areas.
It also says the price cannot be renegotiated as Malaysia had forfeited the right to do so at the 25-year mark of the agreement in 1987. A price review was broached during bilateral talks held between 1998 to 2003, but it did not result in a new price.
In Thursday’s interview with the Post, Mahathir stuck to his long held views on the matter.
“I have to look at the interest of Malaysia. Can you find any country selling 1,000 gallons of water at 3 sens, something, a price that was fixed way back in 1926? What was sold at 3 sen in 1926 which is sold at 3 sen now?,” he said.
I’d side with rich China over fickle US, Malaysia’s Mahathir says
He refuted Singapore’s view that he passed up on the opportunity to review the deal.
“We are entitled to renegotiate the price after 25 years … but what Singapore says [is] that because 25 years have passed, therefore you have lost your right to negotiate. How can that be? It says after 25 years, not at 25 years you must negotiate.”
The prime minister, who sparred with former Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong over the matter in the 2000s, pointed out that other Malaysian states pay more to Johor for water supplies than Singapore.
“What we are saying is, it is ridiculous that the state of Johor sells water to the state of Malacca at 50 sen per thousand gallons and yet sells at 3 sen to Singapore.”

He added: “And we all know that Singapore is a developed country, it is a very rich country. Its currency is three times higher than our currency, although before they were the same. And yet they are asking a poorer country to subsidise their economy and their growth.”
Asked if the water deal was the “biggest issue” among the various sticking points, Mahathir said it was “the problem that has shown there is no agreement reached between Singapore and Malaysia”.
“There are also other issues of course. But to say that this is unusual, unfair or unjust is ridiculous. There is no place in the world where water is sold by one entity to another, or petroleum is sold to other countries at a price that was fixed in 1926.”
Mahathir: green light for China-backed ECRL, if price is right
The foreign ministers of both countries have recently suggested their officials are making progress in talks on two other issues – over maritime boundaries and Singapore’s management of a portion of Malaysian air space.
In December, shortly after Mahathir made an official visit to Singapore for the first time since he returned to power, a spat broke out over the two issues.
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday said there may be “some joint announcements” in the next two weeks following “reasonable progress” in talks over the maritime dispute.


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Malaysia

Mahathir Mohamad: ‘I’m pro-Malaysia, not anti-Singapore’

Anti-Singapore, moi? Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: AFP

This photo taken on February 8, 2019 shows central Singapore's iconic promenade and skyline. - Those in Singapore with HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS -- have long complained of prejudice, and campaigners say a data breach of some 14,200 people, whose HIV status was released on the internet in January 2019, has caused widespread consternation. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) / TO GO WITH STORY Singapore-social-health-homosexuality-data-HIV, FOCUS by Sam REEVES

Vehicles travel along the causeway between Singapore and Malaysia (top) at the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore in this May 5, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

I’d side with rich China over fickle US: Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad

Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reviews an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Malacanang Palace in Manila. He is in the Philippines for talks with President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: AFP

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Huawei Technologies is pictured in front of the German headquarters of the Chinese telecommunications giant in Duesseldorf, Germany, February 18, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

Mahathir

TO GO WITH SriLanka-economy-infrastructure,FOCUS by Amal Jayasinghe In this photograph taken on February 10, 2015, shows a general view of the port facility at Hambantota. From a multi-million dollar airport ignored by airlines to a lavish cricket stadium rejected by players, Sri Lanka's new government is mulling the future of a string of white elephants. AFP PHOTO / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP PHOTO / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI

President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony for an executive order on a "National Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End Veteran Suicide," in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, March 5, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: AFP

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Even so, the Malaysian prime minister isn’t going to let one issue go:
His claim that the Lion City is profiteering when it comes to buying water from Johor


Even so, the Malaysian prime minister isn’t going to let one issue go: his claim that the Lion City is profiteering when it comes to buying water from Johor.


Singapore

Mahathir Mohamad

Mahathir Mohamad: ‘I’m pro-Malaysia, not anti-Singapore’

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Even so, the Malaysian prime minister isn’t going to let one issue go: His claim that the Lion City is profiteering when it comes to buying water from Johor

Even so, the Malaysian prime minister isn’t going to let one issue go:

His claim that the Lion City is profiteering when it comes to buying water from Johor