VISIT OF MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER TO SINGAPORE (Outcome)

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VISIT OF MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER TO SINGAPORE:

(Outcome): 3.

Dr Ong Chit Chung asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs what is the outcome of the recent visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister to Singapore and the discussions that took place between both sides, in particular, how does it impact Singapore-Malaysia relationship.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Prof. S Jayakumar): Mr Speaker, Sir, the visit by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Badawi on 12th January 2004 was his introductory visit, in keeping with the ASEAN tradition of such introductory visits. PM Abdullah, of course, needs no formal introduction as PM Goh and many other Singapore Ministers have known him for many years.

Being an introductory visit, it was not expected that both sides would have substantive discussions to resolve any outstanding issues.

However, PM Goh and PM Abdullah did use the opportunity to have frank and friendly exchange of views on the state of bilateral relations. They resolved to put bilateral ties back on the right track. They agreed that good relations are important, not just for the benefit of Singapore and Malaysia, but also for ASEAN, and that both sides should explore ways to maximise the common areas in order to strengthen our cooperation.

Members will recall that at our sitting on 5th January 2004, I said that there are deadlocked issues from the old era of Dr Mahathir which both sides will have to address and address them in a way that does not reopen the acrimonious paths which we have travelled previously. In the new era, we have to start a new chapter in bilateral relations without being saddled by the deadlocked issues of the old era.

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When they met on 12th January, the two Prime Ministers also discussed how to deal with these deadlocked issues. I can do no better than recall what PM Goh said at their joint press conference:

"I told him frankly how I saw we could move our relations forward. I've been at this for many years now, discussing issues with Prime Minister Mahathir, and over the years, the issues which were discussed as a "package" and later on as individual items outside the package had ended up in what I told him as "dead knots". It's like Gordian knots; you can't untie them. So I suggested that maybe for the future, we should refer these "dead knot" issues to third parties to arbitrate or to adjudicate. Then we can look forward to co-operation in many areas and if there are new issues, we will try and resolve them before they become tied in knots which we cannot disentangle.

But Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi prefers that we give it another try. He would like to offer new ideas, he wants to think out of the box, to see how we can resolve the issues. Basically, he prefers discussions before we move them to third party. I listened to him. I told him that I'm agreeable to his approach if he can come up with something that we can consider. So that's the agreement that we have. Let's try and discuss and see how we can resolve the issues and then, if we can't resolve them, both of us will be alert to the danger of tying ourselves in knots again. So, if we can't resolve the issues, we will recognise (it) and then, of course, we will in that point of time refer them to third parties."

Mr Speaker, Sir, in other words, it is Singapore's preference that these issues are referred to third party settlement so that we can move forward with our bilateral relations without being saddled by them. However, since PM Abdullah wanted to attempt another effort at talks, PM Goh agreed.

The understanding therefore is that

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PM Abdullah will revert to PM Goh, at a future date, with specific proposals for PM Goh to consider. As PM Abdullah himself said at the Press Conference on 12th January 2004, " €¦ then I will come back with some very, very specific issues and some suggestions on how we can resolve these issues".

It was also agreed that these proposals will be first discussed at the Prime Ministers' level, and as Foreign Minister Syed Hamid said recently, " €¦ it is up to us [Malaysia] to make our proposals in each issue to find ways to resolve them individually. The leaders will consult each other first and once they have come to some agreement, the officials can come in".

Sir, both Prime Ministers, however, were realistic and agreed to be alert to the problem that if in the process of such discussions, we could not untie the dead knots then, at that point of time, we need to find ways to move forward and refer to third party settlement. And again, I quote from Mr Syed Hamid who said: "We want to avoid dead knots that can harm efforts by Prime Minister (Abdullah) to revitalise ties with Singapore€¦. If no agreements are reached, we will seek third party help. We do not want to stoke controversy."

Sir, this is where matters stand. We look forward to receiving PM Abdullah's proposals on how to resolve bilateral issues and how to move bilateral relations forward.

On another matter, both Prime Ministers stressed the need for greater interaction and contacts between the Ministers and officials from both sides. They agreed that the inter-Ministry games should be resumed. Members will also have read that PM Goh, DPM Lee and several Ministers from Singapore attended the Open House in Johore Bahru at the

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invitation of PM Abdullah, and the following day, PM Abdullah and his Ministers came down to Singapore for a social visit.

If I may sum up, these recent events have generated much goodwill and have created a conducive atmosphere within which we can discuss future bilateral cooperation as well as tackle substantive issues.

Mr Sin Boon Ann (Tampines): Sir, Prime Minister Abdullah made reference to resolving some issues first when he said, "We have to pluck some low-hanging fruits and deal with it before the musang comes and takes them away." Can the Minister comment on this approach and what are these low-hanging fruits?

Prof. Jayakumar: Sir, I do not wish to speculate on what are the "low-hanging fruits" that Prime Minister Abdullah referred to. I prefer to wait till Prime Minister Abdullah reverts to Prime Minister Goh with specific proposals.

And I have said, the deadlocked issues from the Mahathir era are very difficult and, as PM Goh said, are dead knots which are difficult to untie. This is why our preference was to have them settled through third-party settlement.

But since PM Abdullah wanted to give the talks another chance, PM Goh agreed. So in good faith, Sir, we will study the proposals when we receive them. Of course, we can only reach agreement if the proposal is fair and if there is a balance of the benefits on both sides.

If the discussions should make no progress then, as we agreed, we will refer to a third party.

But the important point, Sir, is that both sides want to move on with our bilateral relations. We want to maximise our common areas to strengthen our

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cooperation. The outstanding deadlocked issues, in my view, are not the sum total of our relationship. And there is much both countries can benefit from good relations. The recent introductory visit and the two social get-togethers have created the right goodwill and atmosphere to give impetus to this effort.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Sir, can I ask the Minister whether our openness to discussions is based on the understanding of dealing with each issue on its individual merits or are we going back to the package approach, and is water then back on the table for discussion?

Prof. Jayakumar: I would rather not speculate. As we have heard, because the issues were so intractable and so difficult to untie and since the package was called off, our position was, let us move forward without being shackled by these issues, and those issues, let us refer to third party. But PM Abdullah said that he would prefer to give the talks another chance. Now, what he has in mind, we will have to wait until his proposals come forward.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan (Hong Kah): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister if the Malaysian side has formally raised the issue of the now preferred straight bridge on our side of the Causeway.

Prof. Jayakumar: They have not raised the issue of the bridge formally with us. I think Members would have read many statements in the press and in the media by various quarters. I think it is counter-productive to speculate on these reports as to what they will send us, what they may propose, and so on. In fact, at this stage, I do not even know for sure whether the bridge will be one of the issues that PM Abdullah will raise with PM Goh. We have to wait for the proposals so when they come, when we receive them, we will study them in good faith and give our reply.

But Members will recall that at the sitting on 5th January 2004 I dealt with this issue of the bridge and I reminded the House that when Singapore reluctantly agreed to the demolition of the Causeway and to build our part of the bridge, it was as part of a package deal which covered several issues, including continued supply of water for another 100 years from 2061. But Malaysia called off the package in October 2002 and, as I said then, building our part of such a full bridge along with related CIQ revisions would cost us over $500 million and, furthermore, would also sterilise the use of the land under the bridge. From our viewpoint, the bridge would not be cost-effective compared to the Causeway.

Now that the package is off, we need to know what is being proposed to Singapore that would justify us agreeing to demolish the Causeway, and build our side of a full bridge at such considerable cost.

As I said just now, we will carefully consider the proposals when we receive them. And it follows that in the spirit of win-win cooperation, there can be an agreement only if the proposals are fair and that both sides benefit, and the benefits are balanced.

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