One of the things that tiny city-state Singapore will never escape is its intertwined relationship with its northern neighbour, Malaysia. I thought it interesting but unsurprising how the recent news of a water agreement between the two states coming to an end was differently portrayed in the national media. There's no subtlety at all, how the news was portrayed in each of the country, as with most other news relating to bilateral issues between the two neighbours.
The headlines in Channel News Asia on 26 April is:
"S'pore will not renew one water agreement with M'sia which expires next year"'
And the headlines in Straits Times on 27 April is:
No need to renew water deal
Now consider the headlines in the Malaysian National News agency, Bernama, on 27 April:
Johor To Stop Selling Water To Singapore From Skudai Plant Next Year
I think I need not explain further how the headlines would influence the respective domestic readers on the same issue. I thought the distinction just stood out so starkly when I came across the articles. Yet it's all nothing new.
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