Daily Lessons from Life 06 March 2014 - Malaysia lost right to review price of water, says Shanmugam

"Malaysia lost right to review price of water, says Shanmugam - CNA 06 March 2014

SINGAPORE: Malaysia has lost the right to review the price of water.

Foreign Minister K Shanmugam stressed that this was under the terms of the 1962 Water Agreement.
He was responding to recent reports in the Malaysian media that Johor wishes to review the price of raw water sold to Singapore.
Mr Shanmugam said the Water Agreement is guaranteed by the Separation Agreement, which gave Singapore independence in 1965.
He said: "Both Agreements are international treaties which are vital to us, our sovereignty and our security. The terms… cannot be changed unilaterally."
Mr Shanmugam also gave an update on cooperation with Indonesia to fight the haze.
He said a media report on March 4 mentioned that the majority of an Indonesian parliamentary commission was, in principle, supportive of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.
And this is welcome news because Indonesia is the only party that has yet to ratify the agreement.
Without Indonesia, the treaty cannot come into force.
Meanwhile, Singapore is also working to resume cooperation efforts in Jambi province, and officials on both sides have met several times.
Mr Shanmugam said: "This could help on the ground by providing technical assistance and capacity building capabilities to equip local farmers with alternative land-clearing methods, sustainable farming and zero-burning practices.""

The reality is that Singapore sits in between Malaysia and Indonesia. All countries need to work with each other to have peace, stability and prosperity.

Lessons for me are:

1. international laws are the basis for Singapore to make its case with any disputes with its neigbours;

2. while in most cases, the neigbours are also interested in maintaining peace and stability so that all can engage in the act of creating wealth and prosperity, there are times when maintaining such a balance may not be 'advantageous' due to local politicking! These are the times when we need to tip toe very gingerly, skillfully and be very persuasive while knowing that when push come to shaft, we are capable of pulling our weights!;

3. some long torny issues had been resolved e.g. the railway and the railway station lands. Hopefully this 'perceived to be too cheap raw water deal' will not be too complicated for both countries. Otherwise, it can be a real challenge. Currently, our neigbour does not need to create a 'villain' to rally their people to focus on one common 'opponent' yet. Hopefully that will never come. If and when it does come, international laws should prevail. Failing which Singapore simply has to punch above its weight big time, albeit as the last last resort!

Battle scars, once inflicted, linger and last almost forever!! To be use by different generation of politicians at their convenience. Beware!!