KOTA TINGGI: Malaysia wants arbitration to resolve quickly the price issue for the raw water sold to Singapore so that the problem will not drag on to the detriment of Malaysia, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said today.
He said all the processes to bring the case for arbitration would be done in accordance with established procedures.
“We’ve appointed our lawyer to carry out the task of tabling this case. We’ve to follow one by one the specified process,” he said after launching a health camp in Sedili, near here.
Syed Hamid, who is also Kota Tinggi MP, said this when asked to comment on the statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday that the door for negotiations to decide on the water price was closed and that the issue needs to be resolved through arbitration.
On the effects of the land reclamation carried out by Singapore at its territorial waters that affected Malaysia, Syed Hamid said Malaysia would take legal action if a settlement cannot be reached.
He said Kuala Lumpur had submitted documents and evidence that showed the reclamation works had an adverse impact on Malaysia.
On another matter, Syed Hamid said the three Malaysians allegedly asked to strip for checks by New Zealand authorities on their arrival in Auckland on July 19 should report to Wisma Putra so that follow-up action could be taken.
He said if the allegations of the three, who are cooks from Malacca, were true, it meant that the officials concerned had acted impudently.
He said this when asked to comment on news reports yesterday about the allegations of Liew Eng Teck, Tan Teck Hing and How Ah Wan that they were asked to remove their clothes for strict checks upon arrival in Auckland for a 10-day holiday. – Bernama
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