Responding to media queries, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources said that Singapore has been in close contact with Malaysia to anticipate, discuss and mitigate any negative transboundary environmental impact arising from reclamation projects in the Straits of Johor. Such exchanges of information and solutions are facilitated under the ambit of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment network.



Regarding the reported comments by Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar on 4 February 2016 that the Johor development project involving sea reclamation had so far not affected Singapore, and would not bring negative impact to Singapore, Singapore has in fact raised our concerns on many occasions. Singapore is concerned that reclamation work on some of the Malaysian projects in the Straits of Johor may have commenced without the requisite Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and that, in cases where Malaysia informed Singapore that EIAs have been conducted, not all the EIA reports have been shared with Singapore. In this regard, Singapore has highlighted to Malaysia that an EIA needs to be conducted before any reclamation is carried out to confirm that the works will not have any adverse transboundary impact. For projects where the EIA reports have been shared with Singapore, Singapore analyses the EIA report’s findings and seeks clarification from Malaysia where necessary. For Johor’s Forest City project, Singapore is presently in the midst of such analysis. In addition, Singapore also continues to monitor the progress of these projects for potential environmental impact.



Singapore remains committed to working together with Malaysia to address our concerns over the potential transboundary environmental impact of Malaysia’s reclamation projects.





MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES

17 February 2016