Singapore depended on water from Johor under agreements guaranteed at separation. Disputes over price and supply made water a source of tension and pushed Singapore towards self-sufficiency.
Singapore had few natural sources of fresh water. Under agreements of 1961 and 1962, Johor supplied raw water to Singapore at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons. Singapore sold treated water back to Johor at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons. The 1961 agreement ran until 2011 and the 1962 agreement until 2061.
When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, both governments guaranteed the water agreements in the separation documents. For Singapore, this made them part of the basis of its independence.
Water was a source of vulnerability. Singapore's leaders feared that the supply could be used to put pressure on them in times of tension.
Cooperation was also possible. In 1990 a new agreement allowed Singapore to build the Linggiu Dam in Johor to increase the supply.
From the late 1990s Malaysia sought to raise the price of water, linking it to other disputes such as railway land and airspace. The agreements first allowed a price review in the 1980s, but Malaysia did not ask for one then. The two sides disagreed over whether it could still do so. Singapore began developing recycled water and desalination to reduce its dependence.
- Agreements
- 1961 (to 2011) and 1962 (to 2061).
- Guarantee
- In the separation documents, 1965.
- Linggiu Dam
- Agreed in 1990.
Worked example: Explaining the water dispute
Why did water cause tension?
- Dependence: Singapore relied on water from Johor.
- Sovereignty: the agreements were guaranteed at separation.
- Price: disagreement over the right to review it.
- Linkage: water was tied to other disputes in the late 1990s.
Watch out for this
The water dispute was about territory.
It was about a vital resource and about how the agreements guaranteed at separation should be read, not about borders.
Check your understanding
Why did Singapore treat the water agreements as so important?
- They were guaranteed in the separation documents of 1965 and secured a vital resource.
- They gave Singapore control of Johor.
- They ended in 1965.