DPM DENIES ALLEGATION THAT HE SOLD LAND TO SINGAPORE

BUKIT MERTAJAM (Malaysia), Aug 20(Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin Wednesday regretted the allegation by the opposition that he
had purportedly sold a piece of land to Singapore when he was the southern state
of Johor Chief Minister.

He said he was purposely being slandered so that the people would hate him
and the ruling National Front or Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

"I wish to clarify that (during my tenure as Johor Chief Minister) I had
never sold even an inch of land to Singapore and that this (allegation) is a
mere slander," he said at a talk in conjunction with a by-election for a
northern state seat, here Wednesday night.

The deputy prime minister said they made the allegation because they did not
know the actual history.

"I have to reply because the opposition was spreading lies...what actually
transpired was when I was the Menteri Besar, I received a call from Dr Mahathir
one day," he said.

Muhyiddin said Dr Mahathir had summoned him to attend a meeting with
visiting Singapore prime minister then, Lee Kuan Yew over gas pipeline and water
supply issues in Kuala Lumpur.

He said during the meeting between Dr Mahathir, the then finance minister
Daim Zainuddin, Lee and him, Lee had pressed for adequate water supply to
the republic from Johor.

"Lee said Singapore was ready to go to war if Malaysia did not want to
supply enough water and expressed his regret over the stalled water supply
project.
"I said we did not have the money and Lee said Singapore was willing to bear
the cost and when completed, the assets will be owned by Malaysia, so Singapore
had merely footed the bill," said Muhyiddin.
-- BERNAMA