KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is optimistic that outstanding issues between Malaysia and Singapore will be resolved before the annual Singapore-Malaysia leaders’ retreat scheduled for the end of the year.
Addressing topics such as Malaysia’s water supply to Singapore, flight information regions (FIR), and maritime boundaries, Anwar emphasised the urgency of finding solutions.
He touched on the matter during a joint press conference with his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, in Putrajaya today, as part of Wong’s two-day visit to bolster bilateral ties.
“If you ask for a timeline, (the issues) should have been resolved yesterday. But, we understand the complexities and we appreciate the need to resolve this amicably… minor differences shouldn’t deter us from exploring new avenues and working together,” Anwar said.
He assured Wong of his commitment to expedite the resolution process, urging staff to work swiftly and elevate unresolved matters for higher-level attention.
“It would be wonderful, marvellous if we could resolve (the issues) before our bilateral meeting towards the end of this year,” he added, noting that the issue now is to ensure all the “nitty-gritty” details are resolved.
“There is no question that (with) water, it is quite established that we need to sell water to Singapore.
“Similarly for FIR, there is no question that it’s required by (international airport) Changi (and) it’s the same with maritime boundaries as well as economic and financial zone processes.”
Anwar expressed his ambition to use Malaysia-Singapore cooperation as a model for the Asean region and beyond, showcasing how good neighbours should interact.
“I look forward to that sort of final amicable solution,” he said.
Wong highlighted that the meeting was a valuable opportunity to review outstanding issues and guide officials towards constructive dialogue.
“Whatever differences we may have on these issues should not affect or colour how we treat the overall relationship. It certainly shouldn’t detract from the possibility of pursuing new areas of cooperation.
“That’s the spirit we have in addressing these issues. Even if we can’t resolve them completely, at least we’ll see very good progress across all of them by the time we meet at the upcoming leaders retreat,” Wong said.
The prime ministers also had a private meeting for over an hour at Seri Perdana.
Wong’s visit to Malaysia, at Anwar’s invitation, marks his first overseas trip since being sworn in as Singapore’s fourth prime minister on May 15. – June 12, 2024