PUTRAJAYA: The Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) today set the record straight, saying that it contacted the Johor Menteri Besar’s Office repeatedly to convey a message not to proceed with the recent visit to the Johor Bahru port in Malaysian territorial waters.
Wisma Putra said this referring to a statement made by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian regarding the said visit, claiming that an unofficial blessing was obtained from Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and his deputy before the planned visit to the area on Jan 9.
“The ministry wishes to set the record straight and state that upon learning of the planned visit from a Malaysian enforcement agency on the morning of Jan 9 itself, ministry officials, under the advice of the Foreign Minister, immediately and repeatedly contacted the Chief Minister’s office and conveyed a message not to proceed with the visit.
“The Ministry was concerned that such a visit would be counter-productive after a positive and constructive outcome of the bilateral meeting between the Foreign Minister (Saifuddin) and the Foreign Minister of Singapore the day before.
"On Jan 8, both Ministers agreed to establish a working group that will study and discuss the legal and operational matters in order to de-escalate the situation on the ground, and to provide a basis for further discussions and negotiations.
“When contacted, the Menteri Besar at the time was already onboard a vessel and heading towards the Johor Bahru port. As a result, the ministry received a Diplomatic Note from Singapore dated Jan 11 protesting his action, and consequently postponing the 14th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM), originally scheduled for Monday (Jan 14),” said Wisma Putra in a statement today.
Regardless of these recent developments, the ministry said it wanted to concentrate its efforts on the working group and looked forward to hosting the first meeting at the end of this month, a testament of its commitment to strengthen bilateral relations with Singapore based on equality and mutual respect.