U.S. Water News Online
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia has warned neighboring Singapore that it risks damaging relations between the two if it continued to quibble over a long-standing water pricing dispute.
The warning came in a booklet which the government began distributing to the public, to reject Singapore's claim -- also made in a booklet -- that Malaysia's demand for an increase in the price of water it supplies to the island republic was unreasonable.
Malaysia provides Singapore with about half its water and wants to renegotiate two agreements which date back to the 1920s and expire in 2011 and 2061. But Singapore argues that Malaysia missed its chance to review prices in the mid-1980s.
Recently, the neighboring countries have been waging a tit-for-tat public relations campaign.
Over the past week, the Malaysian government printed full-page advertisements in local and regional newspapers accusing Singapore of soiling Malaysia's reputation by spreading misconceptions over the spat.
The ad campaign, which has now ended, is estimated to have cost the government about $526,000.
Malaysia's 20-page booklet titled ``Water: The Singapore-Malaysia Dispute: The Facts,'' warned Singapore of dire implications if it continued to haggle.
``By prolonging and continually quibbling ... Singapore risks damaging its relationship with a neighbor with whom it shares much of its past,'' the booklet said.
``On a people-to-people basis, the Singapore Government is depleting a fast-evaporating reservoir of goodwill,'' it said.
The government is selling copies of the booklet at the symbolic price of $0.01 -- the price Singapore pays per 1,200 gallons of untreated Malaysia water. The document is also available on government websites.
The booklet and advertisements came in response to a Singaporean booklet titled ``Water talks? If only it could,'' released in March, which accuses Malaysia of changing its stance in negotiations over issues such as water prices, border crossing locations and military airspace.
Malaysia and Singapore have a touchy relationship despite close economic and cultural ties. The former British colonies were united in 1963 but split amid bitter discord two years later. Their usually cordial ties sometimes turn testy over persistent disagreements.
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