S'pore & M'sia very different, but forever neighbours & friends: SM Lee wraps up M'sia East Coast visit

SM Lee has completed a four-day working visit to the Malaysian states of Pahang and Terengganu on May 7.

The varied trip saw SM Lee taking in a host of activities, from meeting senior state leaders, such as the former Agong and current Sultan of Pahang; meeting both the current Menteris Besar (Chief Ministers) of Pahang and Terengganu, and also visiting local attractions such as a Malayan tiger conservancy and museums.

SM Lee wrapped up his trip by speaking to the press, and sharing the importance of maintaining the working relationship between Singapore and Malaysian states, as well as potential avenues of cooperation.

Stay on track

SM Lee stressed that at a national level, between Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, there was a “very good working relationship.”

Both leaders met regularly, and spoke regularly via phone calls, and were even likely to meet in the upcoming days as they both attend the Asean summit in Cebu, the Philippines.

Similarly, Singaporean ministries regularly worked with Malaysian counterparts, especially on projects such as the RTS Link, or when resolving more longstanding issues which can be more complicated, like that of water or maritime boundaries.

SM Lee said that that work needed to be “complemented by cooperation at the state level.”

While with states like Johor, Singapore had a “lot of to-ing and fro-ing”, there was less interaction with other East Coast states such as Pahang and Terengganu.

Renew and strengthen friendships

SM Lee said there is good reason for Singapore and the states to work together and that he thought “they are all anxious to pick up some ideas from Singapore, and Singapore is anxious to renew and strengthen our friendship with them.”

On May 6, SM Lee met Pahang's chief minister, Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail of UMNO and some of his Exco members, and discussed business linkages between the state and Singapore.

Speaking to the media, he thanked the royal couple of Pahang for their hospitality and showing him around the state.

Responding to a question about his meeting with Terengganu chief minister, Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar of PAS, SM Lee said he and Samsuri discussed his plans for Terengganu.

He shared that the Singaporean delegation had been given an comprehensive briefing about Terengganu's development, with plans for development of infrastructure, mining, and tourism projects.

One of the projects SM Lee spoke about was a project in Terengganu where plans were being made to house a floating solar panel farm on Tasik Kenyir, an artificial lake two-thirds the size of Singapore, created after the Kenyir river was dammed for a hydroelectric dam.

SM Lee noted that Singapore had completed such projects before, such as the floating solar panel farm at Tengah Reservoir, albeit at a smaller scale.

Due to the Environmental Impact Assessment that was done for the Tengah farm, Singapore had “some idea what the issues are”, and thus this was an area where the state and country could work together.

Forever neighbours

SM Lee emphasised that the Malaysia - Singapore relationship was one that has to be constantly managed to make sure it stayed on track and that something did not come along and “unintentionally cloud and affect the overall relationship in a bad way.”

SM Lee said the two countries were very different, “yet we are forever neighbours, and we have to be forever working friends.”

Therefore, the relationship had to be worked at, and differences understood, and “make sure that the differences do not cause us unintentionally to cause problems to one another.”