International Law, History & Policy - Centre for International Law

Singapore in the Early Years 39
14. The Government of Singapore shall guarantee that the
Public Utilities Board of Singapore shall on and after Singapore
Day abide by the terms and conditions of the Water Agreements
dated 1st September, 1961, and 29th September, 1962, entered
into between the City Council of Singapore and the Government
of the State of Johore.
The Government of Malaysia shall guarantee that the Government
of the State of Johore will on and after Singapore Day
also abide by the terms and conditions of the said two Water
Agreements.
The importance of these two water agreements to Singapore can
never be underestimated. While Singapore had its own catchment
areas and reservoirs, Singapore had not been self-sufficient
in water since the 1920s. It was thus imperative for the new
republic’s survival, that its lifeline was guaranteed. What had
initially been two commercial contracts – signed between the
City Council of Singapore and the State of Johore – had, by the
stroke of a pen under the Independence of Singapore Agreement,
been elevated to the status of an international bilateral treaty of
utmost importance.
Indeed, years later, at the United Nations Conference on the
Law of Treaties, the sanctity of this Agreement was reiterated by
the Malaysian representative, Mr MO Ariff during a discussion
on the proposed Article 60 of what eventually became the Vienna