KUALA LUMPUR: Johor still needs treated water from Singapore due to the state's rapid industrial expansion, says the Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister.
Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said that despite ongoing efforts, Johor's full water self-sufficiency could only be achieved after 2030.
“To mitigate this dependency (on Singapore's treated water), the government has implemented Zero Dependency project, which includes constructing the water retention along the Johor River (Sungai Lebak), building a barrage at Sungai Sedili Besar, and developing new water treatment plants like Layang 2 and Semangar 3.
“These initiatives are designed to increase both the raw and treated water capacities, aiming to secure Johor’s water needs independently in the long term,” he said when responding to Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) in Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Dec 2).
Hassan had earlier asked the ministry to state whether the government would discuss with the Singaporean government to review the Johor River Agreement 1962.
Akmal Nasrullah said that following a discussion with the Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi in October, the government concluded that there is currently no need to renegotiate the raw water rate.
He added that under the agreement, Singapore is permitted to extract up to 250 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw water from the Johor River at a mere 3 sen per 1,000 gallons while Johor buys treated water from the republic at 50sen per 1,000 gallons.
“According to records from the Regulatory Body for Water in Johor (BAKAJ), Johor's current consumption of treated water stands at an average of 16 million gallons per day (MGD)—well above the 5 MGD provided for in the agreement, resulting in additional annual costs of about RM180,000,” the deputy minister added.
He also said that Johor still benefited from the agreement as the cost to buy treated water from the republic is relatively cheaper than having to do the process in the country.
“The average cost to treat a similar volume of water daily, it would cost us RM1.80. Therefore, there is a reciprocal benefit for us as we only bought the treated water from Singapore with the cost of 50sen,” he said when answering a supplementary question by Datuk Abdul Khalib Abdullah (PN-Rompin).
On July 16, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the government was reviewing the agreement related to the sale of raw water to Singapore.
