High-Speed Rail on agenda at Leaders’ Retreat: M’sian envoy

SINGAPORE — Improved connectivity between Singapore and Malaysia will be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak meet at a two-day Leaders’ Retreat early next week, said the Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore.

The Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Rail project, easing congestion at the checkpoints and Malaysia’s proposal of a new bridge are some of the key issues the two leaders will discuss at the retreat on Monday and Tuesday, said Mr Husni Zai Yaacob, the High Commissioner, in an interview this week.

“The High-Speed Rail and the Rapid Transit System (connecting Johor Baru and Woodlands) ... are very important to both countries, and the two leaders are very committed to seeing the implementation of these two projects as soon as possible,” said Mr Husni. “Singapore will be expected to announce the location of the (High-Speed Rail) station at this retreat,” he added.

The proposed rail line will reduce the 300km journey over land to 90 minutes from about five hours and is targeted to be completed by 2020.

The Singapore Government is considering three options to site the terminal station — Tuas West, Jurong East and the city centre, while Malaysia had announced that its terminal will be in Bandar Malaysia, about 5km from the Petronas Twin Towers.

When asked about recent reports that the project’s 2020 deadline would be pushed back by two years, Mr Husni said that it was an ambitious project with inevitable challenges, but it was “still early to say that it will be delayed”.

The envoy said that the prime ministers will also discuss measures to ease congestion at the two countries’ checkpoints,

Following last year’s retreat, the two leaders had said that a new initiative of a single border checkpoint — with both the Singapore and Malaysia Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complexes sited at one location — was being explored.

Malaysia had also proposed a new bridge to link the two countries, an issue Mr Husni said his prime minister will be raising next week.

“The congestion is particularly acute at the two checkpoints, especially during the weekends and holidays. The design of the two checkpoints do not allow ease of congestion. So we need a new bridge,” said Mr Husni.

“(Mr Najib) termed it as the ‘Friendship Bridge’, so that we can have a modern design, beautiful structure, to represent the status of our bilateral relations — something that we could be proud of.”

The prospect of a new bridge was also brought up last week by Malaysian Minister for Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin when he attended a forum in Singapore.

“Before we even talk about a rapid transit system between Johor and Singapore and the high-speed rail link, I think we should explore the possibility of whether we can have a bridge,” said Mr Khairy in an interview on the sides of the forum.

“It’ll be nice and I’m sure on both sides they’ll be happy to have the water flow through the Straits.”

At the retreat, both leaders will also discuss how to further strengthen economic ties and security cooperation, especially against the threat of Ismalic State, said Mr Husni.

“I think the two leaders will spend some time discussing this very important issue,” he said.