June 13, 2024
SINGAPORE – Singapore and Malaysia are committed to resolving outstanding bilateral issues such as airspace, water and maritime borders, as well as taking the bilateral relationship to even greater heights through new cooperation.
Both Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim affirmed this at a joint press conference on June 12 at Seri Perdana, the Malaysian PM’s official residence in Putrajaya.
“While the issues are complex and may take some time to resolve, we are fully committed to managing them in a way that will enable our overall bilateral relationship to continue to flourish,” said PM Wong.
Agreeing, PM Anwar said it would be “wonderful, marvellous” if they could be resolved before the two leaders’ annual retreat at the end of the year, but admitted that he may be “a bit ambitious”.
Yet, if Singapore and Malaysia can resolve these issues, it would show the region and the world how good neighbours behave and interact, added Datuk Seri Anwar. “So I look forward to that sort of a final amicable resolution.”
PM Wong, who was on his first overseas trip since he was sworn in as prime minister in May, said his priority during the visit to Kuala Lumpur was to forge a good relationship with Mr Anwar, building on the strong ties that Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong had established with Malaysia’s leader.
“I think we have done so today over a lovely meal and durians for dessert,” he said.
Establishing that strong rapport and trust will let both leaders send a clear message to each side’s ministers and officials to negotiate and discuss outstanding issues in the right spirit, in a way that will arrive at win-win outcomes, said PM Wong.
Both leaders were asked by reporters if they had a timeline in mind to settle outstanding bilateral issues they had identified, including Flight Information Region (FIR) – essentially airspace management as delegated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
PM Anwar said both prime ministers understand the complexities involved, and that minor differences should not deter both sides from exploring new avenues of working together to resolve things.
“There’s no question that water is quite established, that we need to sell water to Singapore. Similarly, FIR, there’s no question that it is required for Changi (airport),” he said. “The issue is to get to the nitty-gritty and get the details resolved.”
PM Wong said working-level discussions have been taking place since the last Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat in October 2023. He added that this trip was a good opportunity for the leaders to take stock of the remaining work and to ensure that officials from both sides continue their discussions in a constructive manner that keeps in mind the importance of the overall relationship.
“We look forward to being able to, at least even if we can’t resolve completely, see very good progress across all of them by the time we meet together at the upcoming leaders’ retreat,” he said.
Later in a wrap-up interview with local media, PM Wong was asked how optimistic he was for these issues to be resolved by the next prime ministers’ meeting, which will take place in Malaysia before end-2024.
PM Wong said Singapore negotiates with good faith and hopes for the best outcome, keeping in mind that these are longstanding issues. He noted that SM Lee had hoped to resolve them before he handed over the baton, but this did not materialise.
The upside is that the differences in positions are known. There is continuity in discussions, and both countries want to look at the issues “not just in an isolated manner, but in a holistic and constructive manner, and work out a durable agreement that both sides will be able to accept”, PM Wong added.
“Can we close the gaps? Can we eventually come to a good landing point? I don’t know yet, because there’s still a lot of details to work through on each of these issues,” he said. “But I do think we can make progress and… we will get closer and closer.”
During the press conference, PM Wong also emphasised that the two countries will maintain continuity in the overall approach to engaging one another while seeking opportunities and new ways to deepen ties.
The two countries already cooperate substantively in almost every sector, such as health, education, culture, trade and investments, connectivity and in emerging areas such as the digital economy and renewable energy, he noted.
PM Wong also said he looks forward to the delivery of promising joint projects such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the Rapid Transit Link between Woodlands and Johor, which he said will bring the two countries closer together.
Mr Anwar said the two neighbours will also look to cooperate in new areas such as culture and tourism, and that he had mooted the possibility with PM Wong for Singapore to deploy teachers up north to teach English and other subjects.
Despite the fact that “people harp a lot” about competition between Singapore and Malaysia, PM Wong said, the reality is that both countries complement each other, and the bigger competition is outside of the region.
As companies seek to diversify their exposure in Asia and more countries vie for such investments, it is becoming more important for Singapore and Malaysia to look at ways to enhance their competitiveness together rather than see the other as competition, he said.
“We all know that we are entering a world that is becoming more dangerous, more unpredictable, more troubled, and in this new environment, our two countries must redouble our efforts to work closely together and work in a pragmatic fashion for positive outcomes for both sides,” he said.
PM Wong returned to Singapore on June 12, concluding a two-day introductory visit to Brunei and Malaysia.