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Johor-S’pore SEZ a glimpse of good border cooperation 'defined not by division, but by shared purpose': M'sia PM Anwar Ibrahim
Neighbourliness.
May 31, 2025, 04:01 PM
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivered a special address on the second day of the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue on May 31.
In his speech, PM Anwar touched on the recently inaugurated Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
He was speaking about how Southeast Asia has "held its ground" through "cooperation, collective resilience, and the steady exercise of our own agency".
Anwar highlighted the JS-SEZ as providing a glimpse of what cooperation can achieve at the bilateral level, adding that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) would be the "wider canvas" for such efforts.
He said that the zone was an economic partnership "designed to boost investment, innovation, and connectivity between Singapore and southern Malaya in a world increasingly shaped by fractures and fault lines," adding:
"We aim to offer a different kind of border, one defined not by division, but by shared purpose."
Anwar said that Singapore and Malaysia continue to "deepen our cooperation across the board."
JS-SEZ agreement
The JS-SEZ agreement was signed by Singapore and Malaysia on Jan 6, 2025, and it aims to:
- Improves cross-border goods connectivity between Singapore and Johor
- Enables freer movement of people, and
- Strengthens the business ecosystem within the region.
With the agreement, Singapore and Johor would strive to complement each other in ways that increase their value proposition to each other and companies seeking a destination for global investments.
Singapore's strengths as a global hub for technology, business, and finance and Johor's abundant land and resources could open the JS-SEZ to many twinning opportunities.
The JS-SEZ aims to deepen cooperation in 11 economic sectors, such as manufacturing, energy, financial services, and the digital economy, to help companies expand their regional footprint.
Top photo from the International Institute of Strategic Studies/YouTube & Canva.
