MALAYSIA moved to reassure its southern neighbour on two major issues – water and the high-speed railway (HSR) project – with Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah saying that it will honour the 1962 water deal, reports the Straits Times.

The minister told the Singapore daily that the HSR is the more “immediate and urgent” matter than “turning off the taps”, following remarks from Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysia wants to renegotiate a longstanding water supply agreement with the island, calling the existing deal as “too costly”.