SINGAPORE: Despite tensions over various issues escalating from time to time, Malaysia and Singapore are keeping their channels of communication open in efforts to solve bilateral issues.
As a result, through numerous meetings, two bilateral issues have been successfully resolved so far.
One is the postponement of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project.
The second was the disagreement on flights in Pasir Gudang airspace.
Malaysia and Singapore are also intensively working on solving several other outstanding matters, such as the maritime border issue and the 1962 Water Agreement.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is scheduled to be in Malaysia for two days from Apr 8 to meet his Malaysian counterpart, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, at the 9th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat.
The latest edition of the Retreat, which was supposed to be held in November last year, was postponed.
However, Dr Mahathir was present for the 33rd Asean Summit and Related Summits, which Singapore, as the Asean chair, hosted for five days from Nov 11.
The eighth edition of the Retreat was held in the republic in Jan 2018. Dr Mahathir had, on Friday (Apr 5), said Malaysia and Singapore will hold discussions in a “friendly manner” on all unresolved issues during the Retreat.
Dr Mahathir and Lee will meet for the first time over the Leaders’ Retreat platform – a vital mechanism to strengthen relations and find solutions for bilateral issues.
“It is good to continue with this tradition. Our leaders must come together from time to time to have a good heart-to-heart talk,” said Ong Keng Yong, executive deputy chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University.
To his earlier exposure to the annual retreat format, Ong said that he finds the leaders are always able to use the opportunity to talk “directly and candidly over bilateral issues.”
“This particular process was adopted several years (ago). Both sides see value in this,” said Ong, who was High Commissioner of Singapore to Malaysia from 2011 to 2014.
“There is (now) a bit more clarity and predictability at the working level, where officials understand both positions and responses,” he added.
Ong, the former Secretary-General of Asean, also expressed his hope that both countries could find solutions to manage the bilateral tiffs based on Asean’s “camaraderie spirit”, while minding a positive image of the 52-year old regional pact.
“When we have bilateral issues, let us find a way to resolve them. If we cannot resolve them quickly, we find a way to manage them.
“We don’t want to do anything that gives outsiders the impression that member states of Asean always quarrel among themselves.”
Meanwhile, Singapore CIMB Private Bank economist Song Seng Wun said: “The fact that there is going to be a face-to-face meeting between both leaders is already an encouraging sign after the annual Leaders’ Retreat was postponed last November.”
On whether bilateral issues could easily be resolved as “exchange of words” had taken place and ruffled feathers, Song said that at the end of the day, “the resolutions will depend on how the two sides interpret legal documents or take further steps on whether to seek third-party arbitration.”-Bernama