SM Lee to visit Pahang, Terengganu, will meet ex-Agong, Umno & PAS leaders

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong will make an official visit to Pahang and Terengganu in Malaysia from May 4 to 8.

His visit to Pahang comes at the invitation of the state's Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al'Mustada Billah Shah and his first wife, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

SM Lee will be hosted to lunch by the Sultan, as well as meet state premier (Menteri Besar or Chief Minister) Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and other state leaders.

In Terengganu, he will meet state leaders including Terengganu state premier Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who is also the Vice President of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and incumbent chairman of opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN).

SM Lee's visit builds on a strong momentum of bilateral exchanges between Singapore and Malaysia, said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

It also seeks to deepen Singapore's longstanding and multifaceted ties with Malaysia's states and their leaders.

The trip comes on the back of a recent phone call between Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim on Apr. 20, where they discussed cooperation between both countries amid the Middle East crisis.

This will also be the first trip by a Singaporean leader to both states in nearly three years.

Minister for Education and then-Minister for National Development Desmond Lee visited Pahang in October 2023, while then-Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Maliki Osman visited Terengganu in April 2023.

On his upcoming trip, SM Lee will be accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Social and Family Development Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim and Member of Parliament Joan Pereira, as well as MFA officials.

This will be SM Lee's first trip to both Malaysian states in more than 22 years, the last being when he served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1990 to 2004.