Transcript of Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan’s Doorstop Interview with Singapore Media at the Conclusion of his Visit to Malaysia (17 to 19 May 2022), 19 May 2022, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Minister: Hi, good morning everyone. I am glad to be back in Malaysia. Of course, I have been a regular visitor here despite COVID, but this is the second trip this month that I have made. It is special because in the last six weeks the borders have been completely open. People have been able to travel freely across without tests, without quarantine. I think this has been a very welcome development.
 
It has been a very good visit. I had an extensive series of meetings with the Prime Minister (Ismail Sabri Yaakob), multiple ministers, (and) leaders from across the political spectrum. Also honoured to have a meeting with the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong (of Malaysia and the Sultan of Perak) His Royal Highness Sultan Nazrin (Muizzudin) Shah, and many old friends whom I have met over the past two decades of political service.

I would say a couple of things are worth highlighting. First, Malaysia obviously has always been our closest neighbour. The last two years have been difficult for people on both sides of the causeway, but one key element which has come through is the fact that both sides, Malaysia and Singapore, have been steady, reliable, dependable partners throughout the crisis. We kept our supply chains open. The flow of essential services, food, medication, logistics, supply chains were maintained throughout, uninterrupted despite the crisis. The only real impediment of course, was the free flow of people. But now that we have reopened, that makes it so much more significant. If you look at the modalities that have reopened, as far as air travel is concerned, we are now to about 180 flights a week to seven destinations across Malaysia. This is only at about 40% of what was the level of flight connectivity. Before the pandemic, we had about 500 flights a week. We hope in the next few weeks and months, to see a full resumption of air connectivity. On land, the Causeway (and) the Second Link have been open and especially over the long holiday weekends there has been extensive flow of traffic. Not quite at the level of pre-pandemic yet, but I am sure that will increase over time. We are also exploring the possibility of a ferry service from Desaru to Tanah Merah. I think that is a matter of undergoing the necessary regulatory checks and approvals. That should be in order shortly.

Beyond that, our discussions have explored a variety of key issues. We have explored for instance, the geopolitical situation which confronts and affects both Singapore and Malaysia. We have examined our ties within ASEAN and how Singapore and Malaysia can collaborate more closely together within ASEAN. We have also looked for new areas of collaboration including things like urban agriculture, increasing food supply, digital economy, creative economy, and of course our more traditional areas of tourism, people-to-people interaction, manufacturing and services across borders. All these are areas, fertile areas, where we expect to see significant progress in the months and years to come.

All in all, this has been a good visit. As I said, we have come through as friends indeed when times are tough. If anything, this has expanded, deepened the reservoir of trust and goodwill between Singapore and Malaysia. I have been very glad to be back and to be able to travel without quarantine.
 
Hazlin Hassan (ST): What were the key issues discussed with the Malaysian Prime Minister as well as with other Malaysian leaders here? And are there any updates or new developments on bilateral projects between the two countries?

Minister: First, I was very glad to see the Prime Minister (Ismail Sabri Yaakob). In fact, we had just met last weekend in Washington D.C. as well for the US-ASEAN meeting (ASEAN-US Special Summit). We reviewed the bilateral relationship quite extensively. I do not have time to go into details now, but just a couple of things to highlight. Number one, restoring full connectivity – land, air, and sea, expanding opportunities for more business and people-to-people interactions, and also new areas (like) high tech urban agriculture, the promotion of more cross-border investment and for services to be provided by both Malaysia and Singapore, especially as we emerge into a more volatile and uncertain world.

As far as current projects (go), we were pleased with the good progress that has been made so far on the Johor-Singapore Rapid Transit System. If you come round to the Singapore end of it, you will see that construction is well underway for the station, and this will improve land connectivity between Johor and Singapore in quite a transformative way. We are looking forward to, hopefully, the establishment of full passenger services by the end of 2026. We did discuss other projects, for instance the HSR (Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail), which you might recall the previous project was terminated. I think on the Malaysian side they are exploring some new ideas. We will wait for their proposals; we will examine their proposals with a fresh pair of eyes on a clean slate. Let us wait and see what emerges, but again the key point here is connectivity and opportunities to collaborate, opportunities to invest, (and) opportunities to do more together.

Amir Yusof (CNA Digital): Good morning, Minister. Amir from CNA Digital. There is a strong likelihood that Malaysia could be heading into a General Election within a few months, and this could trigger yet another change in government with new leaders at the helm. Given the uncertainties and unpredictability of the political situation in Malaysia, how challenging has it been for Singapore to maintain and develop bilateral ties with your respective counterparts?

Minister: That is a good question.  Let us put it this way.  Since 2018, Malaysian politics has been undergoing a challenging and complicated time. As you clearly said, there has been various reconfigurations of government in the past few years.  But if we take a step back, and I again want to emphasise this, the strength of the bilateral relationship, the closeness of the interaction, if anything, has been strengthened, and the levels of trust increased by actual performance during the COVID pandemic. The fact that we both worked together, we were able to support each other, that we came through for each other at critical moments, made all the difference. In terms of the bilateral political relationship, it is strong, it is close, we are dependable, we are reliable. 

The next thing I would say is that if you look at my very hectic timetable the past two days, you will notice that, in fact, there has been extensive engagement across the entire political spectrum. A further point I would make is that if you examine not just the engagements, but the duration of the relationships – for instance, I have known Prime Minister Ismail (Sabri Yaakob) and (Senior) Defence Minister Hisham(muddin Hussein) for almost two decades.These relationships have spanned both good times and tough times. It is a relationship that is close. I would say we are friends.  But let me also put it to you this way.  As political leaders on both sides, our primary duty is to advance the interests, the security and the opportunities for our respective people.  But being friends, having a long history of interaction and engagement, ensures that we can communicate effectively without misunderstanding, and that we can collaborate effectively and bring about the fruition of projects of mutual benefit. All in all, I would still characterise our relationships as close, dependable, trustworthy.  
 

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