DAILY EXPRESS NEWS
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M'sia may let S'pore use air space
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Singapore agreed on Monday to work on
resolving long-standing disputes in what could be a milestone in
relations between the two quarrelsome Southeast Asian
neighbours.
Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Malaysian Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the announcement after talks in
Malaysia's new administrative capital, marking the first top-level
initiative to improve relations since 2000.
Goh said Malaysia might offer to allow tiny Singapore's air force
to use Malaysian airspace for training and, in return, Singapore
would release Malaysians' retirement funds locked within the
city-state and also consider the joint development of disused
Malaysian-owned railway land in Singapore.
Singapore's Central Provident Fund (CPF) is estimated to hold
around 2.26 billion ringgit ($595 million) worth of Malaysian
retirement savings.
Many Malaysians work in Singapore, drawn by the dynamic economy of
a nation whose population is one-sixth the size of their own. But
those who leave Singapore before retirement cannot take their
retirement savings when they leave, although workers from other
countries may do so.
"The prime minister has suggested he will consider allowing RSAF
aircraft to use Malaysian air space for training," Goh told a joint
press conference.
"On a reciprocal basis, I have said if that could be done I would
have no hesitation in releasing the CPF funds of Malaysians and
considering the joint development of additional pieces of railway
land in Singapore."
Goh added, "It was a candid discussion and we were able to enjoy
that because of our personal relationship and our desire for better
relations between both sides."
Bilateral relations have been complicated since Singapore and
Malaysia formally separated in 1965. But ties have been on the mend
since former foreign minister Abdullah took power in October last
year, ushering in a more consensus-driven approach.
Monday's proposal does not seek to solve the biggest bilateral
dispute, the price of the water Malaysia supplies to land-strapped
Singapore, but the two sides agreed to ask their ministers and
senior officials to draft proposals to tackle it.
"It's very important," said political scientist Professor P.
Ramasamy of the National University of Malaysia.
Abdullah has taken the sting out of relations, which had been held
back by political point-scoring between his predecessor, Mahathir
Mohamad, and former Singapore premier Lee Kuan Yew, Ramasamy said.
"It puts behind them some of the problems that affected the
relationship for some years," he said.
In another sign of warming ties, foreign ministry officials from
both sides have resumed a tradition of playing a golf tournament
each year. The two sides teed off at the weekend for the first time
since 2001 in a game involving foreign ministers.
Other outstanding bilateral issues include land reclamation near
the narrow Johor Strait that runs between Malaysia and Singapore
and a dispute over a new bridge.
"We do not have definite positions in terms of details, and the
agreement we have together is we must move forward," Abdullah
said.
"We have decided two months from now we will have detailed
responses to the matters we are going to look into now.
"The discussion certainly has been successful from the point of
view that we are moving forward and not allowing it to
stall."
In another first, Goh said Abdullah had given him a plan and an
artist's impression of a bridge Malaysia would like to build over
the strait between the two nations.
Malaysia wants the bridge to replace the existing causeway
connection, arguing that it is a bottleneck for growing road
traffic and that a bridge would allow small ships to pass
through.
Goh said the plan had some "disadvantages" and that he would study
the proposal before discussing them in detail.
Goh and Abdullah would drive negotiations forward, intervening when
issues could not be resolved at ministerial level, Goh
said.
