PEDRA BRANCA (Review of outstanding issues with Malaysia)

Mr Zulkifli bin Baharudin asked the Prime Minister whether the proposal to review all the outstanding bilateral issues with Malaysia includes the issues of Pedra Branca.

Prof. S Jayakumar (for the Prime Minister): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I answer this question on behalf of the Prime Minister?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Prof. S Jayakumar: Pedra Branca is not among the issues which the two Prime Ministers, in their meeting in Hanoi on 17th December 1998, agreed should be settled as a package of outstanding bilateral issues. This is because, as I informed Parliament on 29th June 1998, officials from Singapore and Malaysia on 14th April 1998 had already reached the agreement on the text of a Special Agreement to refer Malaysia's claim to Pedra Branca to the International Court of Justice.

Mr Zulkifli bin Baharudin: Can I ask the Minister what is the status of the matter now being handled by the International Court of Justice?

Prof. S Jayakumar: As I said, the text of the Special Agreement has been agreed upon. So the basic problem has been overcome. What has to happen now are procedural requirements, such as formal signing ceremony and ratification, after which it will be referred to the International Court of Justice. These procedural steps will be implemented in due course.

Dr Lily Neo (Kreta Ayer-Tanglin): May I ask the Minister whether the issue will include Malaysia's proposal to build a second bridge to replace the Causeway?

Prof. S Jayakumar: Do I understand the Member's question to be whether the package of issues includes the proposal of a bridge?

Dr Lily Neo: Yes.

Prof. S Jayakumar: The answer to the question is no. The proposal to replace the Causeway with a bridge is actually not part of the package of bilateral issues that Singapore and Malaysian officials have discussed. In fact, this proposal is not new, nor has it been raised officially. There were press reports, I believe, in 1996 to which Prime Minister Goh as well as my Ministry responded. But these reports resurfaced recently in a number of Malaysian press reports that a consortium called Gerbang Perdana had secured in-principle approval to construct a bridge to replace the Causeway. The Ministry of National Development issued a press statement on 18th December which reiterated that the Singapore Government had not received any official proposal from the Malaysian Government on the development of a new bridge to replace the Causeway. Only when the Singapore Government has received such a proposal and is able to evaluate it, would we be able to comment on it further?

Sir, let me say again that any proposal to build a bridge must be agreed to by the two governments. When the Singapore Government receives a serious proposal from the Malaysian Government, we will study it and do a cost benefit analysis.

Mr Zulkifli bin Baharudin: Sir, it appears that the Singapore Government has not been consulted on matters of mutual interest and, at the same time, we have been accused of not consulting the Malaysians on other areas of mutual interest. Would the Government then consider referring this matter, as a matter of protest, to the Malaysian Government to make sure that we are equally consulted on matters of mutual interest?

Prof. S Jayakumar: The Member's point is taken. But as I said, it is a private sector proposal. The Malaysian Government has not made a formal proposal to us. I do not think this calls for a protest. But of course we wish that Singapore is kept informed of such a proposal if the Malaysian Government does in fact support this proposal.