Politicians try to calm trade jitters over KL-Singapore row
Politicians try to calm trade jitters over KL-Singapore row
M. Jegathesan, Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur
Singaporean businessmen expressed concern on Tuesday over tensions with Malaysia, but politicians from both sides sought to allay their fears.
The businessmen spoke out at a meeting here between Malaysia's Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz and her visiting Singapore counterpart George Yeo, which was attended by some 47 public and private sector officials.
Relations between the two countries have been erratic since Singapore was ejected from the Malaysian Federation in 1965 and went on to become a physically tiny but economically powerful independent neighbor.
The latest row concerns a land reclamation project by the island state in the narrow Tebrau Strait between the two countries, which Malaysia fears could interfere with shipping access to its ports.
Singapore business leaders said stability in the relationship between the two countries was crucial for businesses to expand, adding that they faced difficulty in convincing investors to come to Malaysia.
But Rafidah told them: "All your apprehension is unfounded. Forget about what is ruffling us. Sometimes we fight. Business must go on.
"I don't think the business community should worry anything at all about this. Leave politics to politicians and government to resolve."
Yeo said some Singaporean businessmen had suggested that they postpone the trade promotion trip to Malaysia until the situation "calms down a little bit."
"But I told myself of the need to underline the importance of the relationship," he said, pointing out that 50 percent of all trade within the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was between Singapore and Malaysia.
Yeo said that in the past two years Malaysia had overtaken the United States as Singapore's number one trading partner.
"This is a relationship which is inseparable. Malaysia and Singapore are like Siamese twins. Occasionally we get too close to each other and annoy each other.
"We say you go your way and I go my way. We try and we cannot go very far because we share a common umbilical cord."
Yeo reminded the business leaders that both economies faced common challenges, citing the threat posed by China's giant economy.
"ASEAN needs to be much more integrated. Integration of ASEAN requires at the core a very strong economic vibrant relationship between Singapore and Malaysia," he said.
Umar Abdul Hamid, president of the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that an engineering joint-venture project in Malaysia had been put on hold because its U.S. and European investors were worried about the latest row.
"Our company is working hard to get investors here, but they say lets wait," he said.
Stephen Lee, chairman of the Singapore Business Federation said political stability between Malaysia and Singapore was a concern. "It is factored into business decisions."
Total trade between Malaysia and Singapore last year was 91 billion ringgit (US$24 billion), tilted in Malaysia's favor.
Yeo is in Malaysia for five days, during which he is expected to visit the northern states of Perak, Kedah and Penang, which is regarded as the region's Silicon Valley.