Differences, but no hostility: PM Wong & Anwar laud S'pore-M'sia relationship at 12th Leaders' Retreat

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim met in Singapore on Dec. 4, during the 12th Annual Leaders’ Retreat.

This was the second leaders' retreat that the pair have attended together, and comes as both countries celebrated the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding on Health Cooperation and the Fight against Drugs, and PM Wong said both countries would step up exchanges between officials, including education and cultural exchanges.

Robust ties

In PM Wong’s prepared remarks, he recounted the numerous instances of bilateral cooperation over the past year, the progress made on the establishment of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, the construction of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS), and Malaysia's formal agreement to Singapore's proposal to open consulates in Sabah and Sarawak.

The latter will allow "Singapore to provide consular services to Singaporeans there, and deepen already robust ties between our peoples".

PM Wong also spoke about the various efforts made to address border crossing issues, such as the introduction of initiatives such as the QR-code customs clearance and automated lanes, or the discussions around reciprocal improvements to the Cross-Border Taxi Scheme.

He also lauded the “good momentum in our energy partnership”.

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) has awarded conditional approval for a proposal to import low-carbon electricity from Sarawak to Singapore, and both countries expect to expand cross-border electricity trade capacity through a second electricity interconnector.

Outstanding issues

But there were also outstanding issues that both he and Anwar discussed, of which he identified three.

On airspace, there were ongoing discussions about air traffic management arrangements, especially in light of growing air traffic in the region.

PM Wong also spoke about water, “not a pressing issue”, but nevertheless with “shared interest to increase the yield and safeguard the water quality of the Johor River”.

This included guarding against extreme weather changes and disruption scenarios; and meeting Johor’s growing needs, as well as Singapore’s own needs, as provided for under the 1962 Water Agreement.

During a later part of the conference, he answered a question about water, noting that high levels of rainfall in recent years meant that water issues were not "pressing".

Lastly, there were maritime boundary delimitation issues, both to the East and the West, for which officials on both sides have had several rounds of discussions.

This allowed a better understanding of each nation’s positions, but would still need time to resolve.

PM Wong noted that the issues were complex, with differences in views and were not easy to resolve.

“But as good neighbours, we will continue engaging in good faith.”

Differences, but no hostility

Answering a question about the bilateral relationship, Anwar summed up the current state of affairs, saying, "There are differences, of course, but there's no hostility."

Anwar thanked PM Wong for his hospitality, and said that when engaging in foreign visits or multilateral summits, he always "made it a point" to mention the spectacular example of success of the Malaysia-Singapore relationship, where projects such as the JS-SEZ "could only happen... because of the trust and friendship".

Regarding ongoing issues, such as the maritime border, Anwar said that several of these issues were complex.

Still, he instructed Malaysian officials to "work towards an amicable resolution, even if it is not in full, at least progress in part".

PM Wong echoed the sentiment, responding to the question by saying that "longstanding issues are longstanding for a reason", but despite complexity and differences in views, both sides had to continue engagement.

Top image via Mothership