Term 3 Week 2 (Blogging Assignment)

An article entitled 'The Religion of Water' was published in The Straits Times on 7 July 2011. In the article, it was mentioned that ' within countries, there is debate over whether water should be treated as a human right or as a commodity, access to which is determined by the market.' Please read the article.

Is there a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity? In your opinion, should water be treated as a human right or as a commodity?

Post your 300 word response on your blog.

In my opinion, water should be treated both as a human right and also be charged like a commodity. Water is something humans and all living things require to survive, and if the government in Singapore makes water a commodity with a high charge, those who are unable to afford it would turn to dirty water, and that would result in sicknesses and diseases, eventually leading to death.

As the government, knowing that water is a human right, required for all living things (especially humans) to survive, if they can’t even provide water for their people, or charging too high a price for water, then isn’t that indirectly killing their own people?

However, although the government is responsible for the country’s supply of clean drinking water, they have the right to charge it, especially in a country like Singapore, where water is scarce, a resource we have to pay for constantly as we have no other renewable resources yet. As our local Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, “You have to get the price right so people understand that this is a scarce resource and will value it.” He also added, “If you make it free, nobody will bother to turn off the tap… They can leave it once since someone else is paying the price…” I agree with what he says strongly. Singapore has to price its water at a level that would make its people understand its worth and understand the need to treasure it. If Singapore wants to save water, it has to start with its people’s mindset.

Most people in Singapore have the mindset that their water supply is unlimited, and that they can use it freely. We can't blame each other for that, as the amount of money we pay for water is so minimal that we don't even feel that we're actually paying our water bill. I was not an exception, especially when I was young, as I always forgot to turn off the tap and took long showers.

But after learning about the importance of saving water in Singapore, I made it a point to use as little water as possible, and adopted water-saving methods such as using less water when I shower, turning off the tap when I finish washing my hands or when I’m soaping my hands, washing fruits in a plate of water instead of with running water and turning off the tap when I rinse while doing the dishes.

In conclusion, I feel that water is a human right that everybody deserves, but they should pay a price for it so as to remember to save it. If everybody puts in the effort to save water, especially in Singapore, then water, a scarce resource, may have its price reduced!