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.