KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must ensure that Johor can meet its water treatment needs and achieve net-zero dependency before considering changes to the water agreement with Singapore or exploring other options.
Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the government was taking a cautious and thorough approach regarding the sale price of raw water to Singapore under the 1962 Water Agreement.
He said any changes to the rate must consider the implications on the purchase cost of treated water from Singapore, which is a critical requirement for Johor.
"As far as the country's commitment is concerned, we have never failed to meet the terms and conditions of the water agreement (with Singapore).
"Therefore, regarding whether there is a need for a new agreement or any other matters, we have decided to proceed with the existing one for now.
"Based on discussions in October 2024, with the Johor menteri besar and the ministry, it was decided that a review of the raw water rate does not need to be negotiated at this time," he said during the question-and-answer session in Dewan Rakyat today.
Akmal was responding to Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) who enquired whether the government will discuss with Singapore the possibility of reviewing the 1962 Johor-Singapore Water Agreement, which allows Singapore to receive 250 million gallons of water from Johor until 2061 at a rate of 3 sen per 1,000 gallons.
Akmal said the agreement allows Singapore to extract up to 250 million gallons of raw water per day from Sungai Johor at a rate of RM0.03 per 1,000 gallons.
In return, Johor purchases treated water from Singapore at a rate of 50 sen per 1,000 gallons, which incurs an additional cost of approximately RM180,000 annually for Johor, he said.
"From an economic perspective, while we have been bound by the 1962 agreement on raw water, the arrangement requires Singapore to sell back five million gallons of treated water daily to Johor.
"However, the impact is more significant with treated water because, although the agreement set the figure at five million gallons, we are purchasing 16 million litres per day. Meanwhile, the cost to treat this water is 50 sen and we buy it from Singapore.
"For comparison, treating the same amount of water locally would cost around RM1.80 per cubic metre, while the treated water we buy from Singapore costs about 11 sen per cubic metre.
"Therefore, before making any decisions, we need to achieve net-zero dependency by being capable of producing treated water in Johor before we can reassess any new directions," he said.
He said this in response to a supplementary question from Datuk Abdul Khalib Abdullah (PN-Rompin) who enquired about the economic impacts faced by Malaysia due to the sale of raw water to Singapore at a subsidised rate and the long-term effects on Johor's water resources if the agreement continues without any changes.
Akmal added that to reduce dependency on Singapore, the government had launched the Zero Dependency project, which includes building Riverbank Water Reservoirs in Sungai Johor, a dam in Sungai Sedili Besar, and water treatment plants like Layang 2 and Semangar 3.
"These projects aim to boost water storage capacity, allowing Johor to meet its long-term water needs independently. However, achieving zero dependency by 2030 may be challenging due to the growth of industries such as data centres and semiconductors.
"As a result, Johor will still need treated water from Singapore."