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."