Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Singapore's reaction to the Johor Mentri Besar's visit near disputed waters between Malaysia and Singapore was disproportionately “severe.”

At the same time, he said the treated water rates sold to Malaysia by Singapore is long over due for a review.
He said this when a member of the audience posed questions on the now fraught Singapore-Malaysia ties during a dialogue session after his speech at the Oxford Union in UK.