Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday, Feb. 28 once again brought up the issue of Singapore buying water from Malaysia.

Who was he talking to?

Mahathir was addressing the Johor state leaders' retreat in Putrajaya when he said that the amount of money Singapore is paying Malaysia for water is too low.

What else did he say?

Along with this comment were other assertions by the Malaysian leader, such as how Singapore, as a rich country, had been developing because of Malaysia's provision of water, and characterising Malaysia as a "poor country" that needed to be developed at a comparable rate to Singapore.

Here are all the things Mahathir said as compiled from various media reports:

Malaysia needs to fight for more payment

“We need to fight for this. A rich country (Singapore) (cannot be) buying water from poor countries at such an unreasonable price.”

“If we are reasonable, we must say that this payment is unfair. They (Singapore) are growing rapidly because we are supplying them water.”

Johoreans are staying quiet about this issue

“Singapore rapidly developed because we have been supplying them with water, but I find the Johoreans rarely talk about it."

“They just wait for negotiations to be undertaken by the federal government as if the state government is unaffected."

“The state government must make their voices heard. The rich are depending on the poor? This is not only illogical but also morally wrong. We must put stress on this issue.”

Johor could be richer if it demanded more payment

Mahathir said Johor would make a lot of profit if the state could properly manage the supply of water and electricity that it channelled to Singapore.

He said: “This must be fought for, but we are not very smart in fighting for it or highlighting the problems and the consequences we suffered.”

The prime minister said the state government should also look at its own advantages and disadvantages, rather than at Singapore’s, in order to surpass its neighbour in terms of development.

Malaysia is bigger and cheaper

“Johor has a relatively larger land size than Singapore, and of course, cheaper. So, if investors are looking for a larger land size, this will definitely give an advantage to Johor compared to Singapore"

“The cost of living in Johor is also much lower than Singapore and this can attract investors as the investment cost will not be as high as in Singapore.”

Singapore is no longer as strategic

In terms of ports, Mahathir said Johor could use its strategic position to attract the arrival of merchant ships.

“Singapore was once considered a strategic port because the ships were using sails and wind energy, but in this era, ships use engines and they no longer regard Singapore as strategic."

“In fact, Johor is as strategic as Singapore, but we are not getting the optimal benefit of it,” he said.

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