International Law, History & Policy - Centre for International Law

Singapore in the Early Years 41
Agreement. 85 In his oral answer to questions on Singapore’s
bilateral relations with Malaysia, Foreign Minister Professor S
Jayakumar said:
The significance of the water price, for both countries, is
Singapore’s existence as a sovereign nation separate from
Malaysia, and the sanctity of the most solemn agreements that
we have entered into with Malaysia.
The two Water Agreements are no ordinary agreements.
They are so vital that they were confirmed and guaranteed by
both Governments in the 1965 Separation Agreement, also
known as the Independence of Singapore Agreement. The
Separation Agreement was registered at the United Nations.
Both countries have to honour the terms of the agreements
and the guarantee in the Separation Agreement. Any breach of
the Water Agreements must call into question the Separation
Agreement and can undermine our very existence.
Mdm Deputy Speaker, not many people know that Malaysia
also gave effect to the Separation Agreement by an amendment
to the Malaysian Constitution on 9th August 1965 through an
Act of the Malaysian Parliament, Act 53 of 1965.…
In other words, the guarantees are an integral part of an
international agreement solemnly entered into, adopted by
a constitutional amendment in Malaysia and later registered
with the United Nations. In international law, both parties must
ensure that the Water Agreements are observed and neither side
can unilaterally vary their terms and conditions. If Malaysia
can unilaterally revise the price of raw water from 3 sen to 60
sen, and then from 60 sen to RM 3, then they can eventually
fix it at RM 8, which they said is the price since that is what
85 On the controversy over the revision of the water agreements, see S
Jayakumar, ‘Bilateral Relations with Malaysia: Water and Other Issues’,
Oral Answer to Questions, Reports of Singapore Parliamentary Debates,
25 Jan 2003, vol 75, col 2358.