Ties across the Causeway – from contentious to cosy
Bilateral relations with Singapore have evolved but with a new prime minister taking over, the Malaysian side should not forget that disputes over outstanding issues are a true test of good faith between neighbours.
IN his 2015 book, Malaysia-singapore Fifty Years of Contention 1965-2015, Tan Sri Kadir Mohamad wrote about his expectation that the next 50 years should witness a fresh era of good neighbourliness between Malaysia and Singapore, and that it benefits neither side if the acrimonious state of affairs of the last 50 years repeats itself.
The former Foreign Ministry’s secretary-general was in the front seat when bilateral relations between the two countries were strained over several bilateral issues including:
> The review of the price of raw water sold to the island republic; pending resumption of discussions, Singapore still pays a meagre three sen per 1,000 gallons of raw water and sells treated water back to Johor at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons. The agreement expires in 2061.
> Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd land in Singapore; the issue was deadlocked for two decades but is finally seeing some resolution with a joint development effort.
> Dispute over ownership of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge; the International Court of Justice (ICJ) made its ruling in 2008 but 16 years later, Malaysia’s current government has set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to review matters related to the handling of the sovereignty of the three islets.
Nine years after his book came out, does Kadir feel the same way?
“When I wrote in 2015, what I
meant about the expectation was actually a wish and hope held by the Malaysian side, not necessarily equally shared by Singapore.
“In 2024, nothing has changed on the Singapore side. Indeed, Singapore will constantly talk to Malaysia about new ventures to benefit both sides but the bottom line remains, Singapore must always gain from all bilateral ventures. Fifty-fifty maybe but Singapore must never lose, not even by 1%,” Kadir said.
Singapore will have a new prime minister next month. Lee Hsien Loong is passing the baton to his chosen successor Lawrence Wong on May 15.
Already domestic, and some international, media has been touting Wong’s popularity, especially after his decisiveness in handling the Covid-19 crisis as co-chair of the Singapore task force set up to fight the pandemic. The blues guitarist also won admirers with a video he recently uploaded on his Instagram page @lawrencewongst showing him playing the gambus and accompanying two fellow Singaporeans on
a classic Hari Raya song.
The New Straits Times, quoting economists, reported that Singapore may use Johor even more to support its investments
nd in Malaysia, given the good relations with His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia. During a visit last year, Lee acknowledged the relationship between Singapore and Johor has grown under Sultan Ibrahim’s wise leadership.
On Tuesday, photos of Singapore High Commissioner Vanu Gopala Menon being granted an audience with the King were uploaded to both Sultan Ibrahim and the Singapore High Commission’s Facebook pages. According to the posts, they discussed various bilateral issues. The King, it is understood, will visit the republic soon.
Under Lee, who was prime minister for 20 years, bilateral relations remained relatively stable. Over the two decades, he dealt with six Malaysian prime ministers.
While the level of distrust between both countries was high under the leadership of the first two prime ministers, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong’s rule, it went down a few notches when Lee Hsien Loong, Kuan Yew’s son, took over. Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi managed to keep bilateral relations with Singapore cool during his five-year premiership. Though no progress was made on the outstanding issues, things were a lot calmer. Bilateral relations remained smooth when Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over from Abdullah Badawi in 2009. Lee and Najib, both sons of former prime ministers famously got along well and made things a lot easier to manage.
Najib’s aspirations for bold, imaginative and courageous ties resulted in the agreement to construct a game changer project, the high-speed rail line between Jurong East in Singapore and Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. It was later shot down when Pakatan Harapan took over in 2018 but Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has since said he is open to reviving the project.
In any bilateral ties, there are various platforms to discuss issues, especially when countries are neighbours. With Singapore, similarly with Indonesia, leaders have been holding annual consultations to thrash out matters and find ways to enhance cooperation.
With Singapore, once part of Malaysia, the relationship is multifaceted and has flourished, especially in business and trade. The total trade between Malaysia and Singapore for the first half of 2023 amounted to Us$301.2bil (about RM1.29 trillion).
Both countries are major economic partners. In 2022, Malaysia and Singapore were each other’s second largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching Us$83.53bil (RM2.9 trillion). Singapore was also one of Malaysia’s top sources of foreign direct investment that year.
It will be interesting to watch if the 51-year-old Wong, a Ustrained economist, will bring anything new to the table when dealing with Malaysia. Wong has asked Lee to continue serving as a senior minister, and Lee has accepted. Wong is part of a new crop of young politicians groomed for leadership in Singapore’s carefully orchestrated succession process.
Covering bilateral issues between Malaysia and Singapore has always been interesting for me. I witnessed firsthand some level of uneasiness between ministers and leaders, especially over several outstanding bilateral issues. But one thing that always struck me is that Singapore leaders were better at articulating their thoughts than ours. Former Foreign minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar acknowledged this, saying they are very structured and the message is conveyed well and professionally.
But as I wrote in a comment some years back, in any negotiation, despite the good vibes flowing across the Causeway, Malaysia should never take Singapore for granted.
During this time of geopolitical contestation, when Singapore is actively recalibrating its policies to maintain its competitiveness and comparative advantage, Malaysia needs to ensure it holds the long term view in dealing with Singapore and not just focus on short-term gains. Any joint venture should provide maximum benefit to Malaysia. Don’t we have our own competitive advantage to look after too?
Additionally, some of the remaining outstanding bilateral issues have a long history. Just look at the ICJ ruling on Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. It has been 16 years and maritime delimitations are still ongoing. This is where the test of good faith lies between the two neighbours.