Transcript of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s Oral Reply to Parliamentary Questions on Bilateral Relations with Malaysia, 13 September 2021

QUESTIONS

Mr Vikram Nair: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether the current political situation in Malaysia has any implications for Singapore.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs in light of Malaysia’s recent change of government (a) whether he can provide an update on our bilateral ties with Malaysia; and (b) how the Government will move forward on the many bilateral partnerships with Malaysia such as the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link and COVID-19 border control measures.

REPLY

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Mr Speaker, Malaysia will always be our closest neighbour. This is a geographical fact. Our long-term relationship will always be bound by the ties of kinship, culture, history, and of course, economic interdependence. A stable and prosperous Malaysia is good for Singapore, and indeed, good for our region. Naturally, the Singapore Government watches developments in Malaysia very closely. 

As Members of the House would be aware, there has been a change in leadership in Malaysia. Its new Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, was sworn in on 21 August 2021. PM Lee spoke with PM Ismail Sabri the very next morning. Many of the Singapore Ministers have also established or renewed contact with their Malaysian counterparts. Singapore’s consistent position is to work with the government of the day.  

Mr Speaker, we have enjoyed good relations with successive Malaysian governments and leaders, and we have cooperated well with them across a very wide range of areas. For example, we cooperated closely with the previous government led by (former) Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, including contributing medical supplies and test kits. We acted quickly in the early days of the pandemic to set up the Singapore-Malaysia Special Working Committee on COVID-19, which was co-chaired by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and the then-Senior Minister and Minister of Defence of Malaysia Ismail Sabri, in order to coordinate both countries’ measures to respond to COVID-19, and to minimise disruptions to our companies, our workers, and our citizens. We also launched several travel arrangements, including the safe movement of cargo trucks, the Periodic Commuting Arrangement for workers, and a framework for Death and Critically Ill Emergency Visits. These travel arrangements will, of course, continue.

Our leaders are familiar with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and his Cabinet members, and indeed, we have worked with them on many bilateral and regional issues over the years. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and I have known each other from the days when we were both the Ministers for Youth and Sports – that was some time ago. We also met during my more recent visit to Malaysia in March earlier this year, where we discussed the COVID-19 safeguards and the cross-border travel arrangements. My counterpart – Minister of Foreign Affairs Saifuddin Abdullah – is also a familiar face. We worked closely together when he held the Foreign Affairs portfolio between 2018 to 2020. Besides the political leadership, our respective Civil Service maintains good relations and communications with each other. Officials on both sides are in regular contact.

Singapore remains committed to maintaining a constructive and positive relationship with the current Malaysian government. We will also follow through with our commitments on bilateral projects and our partnerships. Mr Henry Kwek asked about the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link Project and COVID-19 border control measures. On the RTS Link Project, Singapore and Malaysia reached an agreement to resume the project in July last year. Construction has, in fact, commenced on both sides and there has been good progress. The RTS Link will be a game changer when it commences services at the end of 2026. We look forward to it significantly improving connectivity between Singapore and Johor Bahru, and easing congestion on the Causeway.

We are continuing discussions with the Malaysian government on the safe and gradual resumption of cross-border movement of people as we enter the endemic phase. This will require mutually agreed public health protocols to preserve public health and the safety of residents on both sides, whilst taking into account the medical resources available. For example, both sides are currently working towards recognising each other’s vaccine certificates. The discussions have been fruitful and constructive. We have made good progress, and this will certainly help us map our path forward for a safe reopening of our borders when the situation permits it.

Mr Speaker, Singapore and Malaysia will always be closely intertwined and interdependent. We are committed to engaging and cooperating with the new Malaysian government to seek win-win outcomes for the long term. This is especially important so that both our countries can recover and emerge stronger from the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. I am confident that our bilateral cooperation will continue to expand for the mutual benefit of citizens on both sides.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

13 SEPTEMBER 2021