KUALA LUMPUR - MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew arrives in Kuala Lumpur on Monday to receive an award for his contribution to international civil aviation as well as to meet top Malaysian leaders.

The International Air Transport Association will confer on Mr Lee the Global Aviation Leadership Award during its annual general meeting on Monday, following which there will be a one-hour dialogue with Mr Lee.

While in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Lee will also meet Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, as well as other government, business and political leaders.

Accompanying Mr Lee are Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education Ng Eng Hen, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli.

After three days in Kuala Lumpur, the Singapore delegation will embark on a five-day tour of four Malaysian states: Perak, Penang, Kelantan and Pahang.

Mr Lee, whose last visit to Malaysia was in April 2005, is embarking on the trip to update himself on developments here.

The general election of March last year saw a three-party opposition alliance, the Pakatan Rakyat, win more than a third of the seats in the federal Parliament.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition also lost control of five states: Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Kedah and Selangor.

Perak recently returned to the BN fold after three Pakatan assemblymen quit the alliance to go independent.

The other four states are still governed by the Pakatan alliance comprising the multiracial Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party and the Islamic Parti Islam SeMalaysia(PAS).

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.