Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad holds a press conference at Menara Yayasan Selangor in Petaling Jaya June 25, 2018. — Picture by Azneal Ishak

PETALING JAYA, June 25 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir sought to play down his plan to review the water supply deal with Singapore, describing the matter as “not urgent”.

Dr Mahathir told Channel NewsAsia in an interview broadcast this morning that his administration could revisit the plan to review its water supply contract, which he described as lopsided.

But this evening the prime minister said the agenda did not top the list of the newly minted Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

“It is not an urgent matter,” he told reporters when pressed on the matter during press conference held at his party’s headquarters here.

Dr Mahathir also said the matter was not brought to Cabinet attention yet, a statement to indicate that his administration has no formal position on the matter as of now.

“No we did not discuss it yet as I said we have more urgent matters to look into,” he told the press.

Dr Mahathir in an interview with Bloomberg had criticised the agreement in which Singapore can draw up to nearly 60 per cent of its water needs from Malaysia at a fixed price, saying it was “too costly”.

The Langkawi MP then said it was an issue “we need to settle” with Singapore.

Singapore later responded today, urging Malaysia today to fully comply with a water-sharing agreement struck in 1962.

Singapore was once part of Malaysia but separated acrimoniously in 1965, clouding diplomatic and economic dealings for years.

Ties were particularly frosty during Dr Mahathir’s previous tenure as prime minister, between 1981 and 2003.

Since returning to office after an election last month he has halted a rail project with Singapore and said he planned to develop some offshore rocks that were the subject of a territorial dispute with his southern neighbour.