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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has responded to a National Day greeting from the Johor Sultan on Monday (Aug. 9), the latter who wished Singapore a Happy National Day.

Thanking Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar for the well wishes, PM Lee said that he also wished him and the people of Johor well.

He added, "I look forward to brighter days when both sides can meet in person again."

The Johor Sultan's post was "liked" more than 17,000 times in just four hours, and received around 450 comments, some of which were from Malaysians wishing Singapore a happy birthday, while others talked about the strong friendship between the two countries.

Replying to PM Lee's comment, which received more than 7,200 likes in just an hour, Malaysian Facebook users also praised Singapore for its handling of the pandemic so far, saying they are impressed on how their southern neighbour has performed in the crisis.

Many urged both leaders on both sides to lift travel restrictions as well, saying they would like to see their families on either side.

Johor has joined growing calls from the rest of Malaysia for fully vaccinated Malaysians to be allowed to spend their mandatory quarantine at home, instead of a designated quarantine centre.

Good friends

Singapore and Johor enjoy a strong friendship, even if relations between the former and Kuala Lumpur are not at its best.

For instance, when the water issue was brought up again by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 2018, Johor Crown Prince Ismail Sultan Ibrahim thanked Singapore for helping out during the drought seasons in 2016, and called the nation-state a "neighbour and a friend".

Top image adapted via PM Lee's & Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar's Facebook pages

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