S'pore to better ties with KL

S'pore to better ties with KL

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Singapore wants to put its relations with Malaysia back on keel and ensure cohesion within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Sunday.

"I think ASEAN is going through a crisis because of the economic crisis and if ASEAN is not seen to be working together as a cohesive unit, it will lose some stature internationally," Goh said.

State television quoted him as saying Singapore wanted good relations with Malaysia following recent tensions, and had left Malaysia to set the pace. He agreed with comments by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that ties had now taken a turn for the better.

The television quoted Goh, who will meet Mahathir before an APEC meeting in Kuala Lumpur later this month, as saying the two had a sound personal relationship.