Malaysia, S'pore renew push to improve strained ties
Malaysia, S'pore renew push to improve strained ties
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur
A second round of talks between Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and former Singapore premier Goh Chok Tong this week will see a renewed push to boost strained ties, Malaysia's foreign minister said.
Syed Hamid Albar said on Sunday the men would meet on Tuesday in the administrative capital of Putrajaya to continue talks aimed at resolving a series of disputes which have long soured relations between the neighbors.
Abdullah and Goh, who is now Singapore's special envoy to Malaysia, held their first meeting in Putrajaya in December after which they presented an upbeat assessment of the situation.
"Both parties know that public expectations are high. What the people want is a permanent solution (to the disputes)," Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
Among key issues on the agenda will be the price of raw water that Malaysia supplies to Singapore and a proposed new bridge costing over one billion ringgit (US$263 million) linking the two countries.
"The issue of the new bridge must be resolved quickly because a customs, immigration and quarantine complex will be ready this year and a delay in the bridge construction will increase the cost of the project," Syed Hamid said.
Previously when Singapore rejected Malaysia's proposal for a modern bridge to replace the 80-year-old causeway across the Johor Strait, former premier Mahathir Mohamad came up with the idea of what became known as "the crooked half-bridge".
The 1.45 kilometer half-bridge would have carried an eight- lane highway some 25 meters above the strait before curving and descending gently to link up with the low-level causeway from Singapore at the water border between the two countries.
But Abdullah in December presented a new design for a conventional straight bridge linking the two sides. Goh has said Singapore would review the project to ensure "balanced benefits."
Syed Hamid said senior officials from both nations have held technical meetings in the past two months to iron out disagreements over the bridge project ahead of Thursday's meeting between the two leaders.
Separated by the narrow Johor Strait, the two nations have endured an uneasy relationship since Singapore's ejection from the Malaysian federation in 1965, but signs of a rapprochement have grown since Mahathir's retirement in 2003.
Other disputes that have held back closer economic cooperation include Singapore's military access to Malaysian airspace, the future of Malaysian-owned railway land inside Singapore and rival claims to a rocky islet.
Negotiations were deadlocked under Mahathir in 2002, but his notoriously confrontational negotiating style has been replaced by Abdullah's more diplomatic approach.
The overall tone of relations has improved and cross-border investment has grown since.
Last month, the two countries announced a deal to end a dispute over Singapore's land reclamation activities in their border waters, underscoring a rapid thaw in their once frosty relations.
The compromise allows Singapore to carry on with the reclamation while cooperating with Malaysia to ensure navigational safety and environmental protection in Johor Strait, a busy international waterway.