Parliament: Singapore hopes it will continue to have a 'constructive, mutually-beneficial' relationship with Malaysia, says Vivian Balakrishnan

SINGAPORE - Singapore hopes that it will continue to have a constructive and mutually-beneficial relationship with Malaysia under its newly appointed Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (March 2).

"We look forward to Prime Minister Muhyiddin forming his new Cabinet soon. He hasn't announced it yet, but we know many of the personalities who are potential Cabinet members and we know them from our prolonged engagement over decades, and we wish them sincerely all the very best," he said.

"We hope we will continue to have a constructive, mutually beneficial relationship with Malaysia, and we look forward to resuming discussions on the ongoing issues and projects," he added.

During the debate on his ministry's budget, Dr Balakrishnan also noted that Singapore has always sought a win-win approach with Malaysia in the many areas where both countries have common interests. These include building the Johor Bahru Rapid Transit System Link and the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail.

"These are mutually beneficial projects for both countries. But after the Pakatan Harapan government took office in May 2018, these projects were delayed," he added. "When that happened, we could have enforced our legal rights and sought full compensation from Malaysia."

Singapore did not do so "in the spirit of constructive bilateral cooperation".

Instead, at Malaysia's request, it agreed to temporarily suspend both projects through formal agreements, giving Malaysia time to review its position and to propose amendments to what both sides had previously agreed upon contractually, he said.

"However, these major infrastructure projects cannot be suspended indefinitely. At some point, we do need to decide whether to proceed or not," Dr Balakrishnan said.

"We look forward to hearing from Malaysia on these two projects, in particular, in the coming months," he added.

Dr Balakrishnan also said that both parties have continued to have constructive discussions on issues such as maritime boundary delimitation, and cooperated in areas such as economic collaboration in Iskandar Malaysia.

The health ministries of both countries have also set up a Joint Working Group to tackle the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

In his speech, Dr Balakrishnan noted that Singapore has long-standing, broad-ranging relations with Malaysia. These are rooted in history, people-to-people ties, and business links, he said.

"Many of us seated in this Chamber will have family members or relatives who are Malaysian or who live in Malaysia," he added.

Both countries are also each other's second-largest trading partner and also important investment partners for each other, he noted.

"Over the years, we have worked with successive Malaysian governments for the mutual benefit of both countries," he said.

Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang GRC) asked Dr Balakrishnan what the recent change in Malaysia's political administration could mean for bilateral ties.

"We know all the people on the political scene in Malaysia and, in fact, we've taken extra effort to maintain those links and to build that reservoir of goodwill and trust. So let's keep an open mind," Dr Balakrishnan replied.

He added: "The second point I want to make is (on) the importance of consistency and a principled foreign policy. So, I hope this is a moment where Singaporeans will appreciate it's good to be boring and consistent."