No reason for flare-up in S'pore ties, KL says
No reason for flare-up in S'pore ties, KL says
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia said on Monday ties with
Singapore had improved after hitting a bad patch last year and it
saw no reason for another flare-up owing to a lingering dispute
over a railway station.
Malaysia's newly appointed Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Syed
Albar said renewed discussion in Singapore's parliament last week
on the railway station issue gave the impression that both
countries were at loggerheads again.
"At least, I would like to think that the tension of the
previous November is over," Syed Hamid, the former defense
minister, told reporters on the first day of his new job.
"There is a better understanding now, there is a better
relationship, there is better cordiality," he said.
Singapore Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar said in
parliament last Wednesday that Malaysia had been given one month
to back up its legal claim to continue operating customs and
immigration services at the Tanjong Pagar station in central
Singapore.
Singapore moved its own rail immigration and customs
checkpoint at the station to the island's north in July, close to
the Malaysian border. Malaysia refused to follow suit.
Syed Hamid said he did not think it was right for Singapore to
set a one-month deadline on the matter.
"We want this also to be resolved, don't misunderstand us. To
us, there is no deadline because we've agreed to look into it and
we'd like it to be resolved quickly," he said. "We are as keen as
they are."
He said Malaysia's argument on the Tanjong Pagar issue was not
about sovereignty but on an agreement that had been in force for
a long time.
The station, where Malaysia's railway line to the south ends,
is a legacy of British colonial rule, which ended in 1957.
Relations between the two countries soured last year when the
railway station issue unleashed a torrent of criticism from both
sides.
Ties have been periodically strained since Singapore left the
Malaysian Federation in 1965. Recent irritants include the sale
of water to Singapore, Malaysian workers' pension rights in
Singapore and Malaysia's restrictions on Singapore Air Force jets
entering its airspace.
The furor died down after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and
his Singapore counterpart, Goh Chok Tong, agreed late last year
to negotiate all issues of conflict between their two countries
as part of a package.
Syed Hamid said Malaysia could not back off from disputes
without getting its fair due.
"We cannot disengage ourselves just like that," he said. "How
do we go about achieving something that will satisfy Singapore
and Malaysia? That is our concern in any bilateral matter."