KUALA LUMPUR — There will be continuity in terms of Singapore and Malaysia’s overarching strategic approach in engaging one another moving forward, but also opportunities for new ideas to deepen ties, said Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday (June 12).

Speaking during a joint press conference with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, Mr Wong emphasised the importance of trust.

"For me, what's important at this beginning, having just taken over, is not so much to talk about priorities in terms of projects or agenda items, but to focus on the human relationship and to build a good relationship with my counterpart Prime Minister Anwar, because trust is everything.

"When there is trust, especially between leaders, we can get many things done," he said.

Mr Wong said fostering trust would also allow both countries’ ministers and officials to negotiate and discuss outstanding bilateral issues "in the right spirit", in a way which would achieve win-win outcomes.

Mr Anwar earlier hosted Mr Wong to lunch at Seri Perdana Complex, the official residence of the Malaysian prime minister.

STRONG FOUNDATIONS FOR COOPERATION

The press conference was Mr Wong’s first one held jointly with a leader of a foreign country. He is on his first overseas trip since taking office last month.

He shared that Mr Anwar was the first foreign leader who called him the morning after he was sworn in to congratulate him.

"We are building on a very strong foundation by my predecessors," said Mr Wong.

"PM Anwar had a very good relationship with then-PM Lee Hsien Loong - now Senior Minister - and I am building on that and continuing with that relationship at the leadership level."

He added that the two leaders also want to extend that good relationship to their government agencies, civil servants and ministers.

"We want to send the right message to all our agencies: Continue to interact, continue to work together, discuss in the right spirit and find ways to resolve outstanding issues, but importantly, identify new areas of cooperation," said Mr Wong.

He said such opportunities could lie in the private sector, non-governmental organisations, civil society and universities.

On Wednesday, Mr Anwar also proposed an idea for Singapore to send its teachers over to teach the English language.

Mr Wong called the current projects between Singapore and Malaysia "major game changers", including the upcoming Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.

He said that while people harp a lot on the economic competition between Singapore and Malaysia, both countries actually complement one another, and that the bigger competition is beyond the Singapore-Malaysia dynamic and outside of the region.

"In fact, we are more similar than we are different. We are two countries with enduring ties of culture, kinship and history. We are both committed to forging more inclusive societies based on good governance and social harmony," said Mr Wong.

ADDRESSING OUTSTANDING ISSUES

Both leaders also committed to addressing outstanding issues between the countries, including on water, airspace and maritime borders.

"Whatever differences we may have on these issues should not affect or colour how we treat the overall relationship, and certainly should not detract from the possibilities of pursuing new areas of cooperation," said Mr Wong.

When asked if there was a timeline established to address the issues, Mr Anwar quipped: "They should’ve resolved it yesterday."

The Malaysian leader said he is pleased that Mr Wong, in his first meeting as prime minister, seems to be as committed to enhancing relations and settling outstanding issues as his predecessor Mr Lee, whom Mr Anwar called "a great friend".

"I am deeply impressed with his agenda and his willingness to be very frank, very open and I think I look forward to a very healthy and strong relations and bond to benefit both our countries," said Mr Anwar.

He said the last year has been "phenomenal" for the relationship and collaboration between both nations. 

"And I think I see this in a pragmatic manner that Malaysia would of course immensely benefit by having Singapore as a great friend and neighbour, and similarly to the benefit of Singaporeans too," said Mr Anwar.

Mr Wong said that at the upcoming Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat, both sides will take stock of the progress of discussions that have been ongoing, while also looking at new ideas that may come up.

"We are open to hearing from Malaysia if there are proposals for the high-speed rail as well, and whatever the new ideas are, we will keep an open mind and we will discuss it in the right spirit of taking our relationship forward," he said.

The high-speed rail project, which aimed to reduce travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to about 90 minutes, had been discontinued after multiple postponements at Malaysia's request and an eventual lapsing of an agreement in December 2020.

MALAYSIA’S ASEAN CHAIRMANSHIP

Mr Wong said Singapore will fully support Malaysia’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next year.

"We hope to be able to work together to set an ambitious and forward-looking agenda for ASEAN for the next 10 to 20 years," he said.

He said that what Singapore and Malaysia are doing is in many ways what ASEAN should be doing to strengthen its economic integration as one community.

Noting that the regional bloc has made progress in areas over the last 20 years, Mr Wong said "there's still a lot of scope for us to come together and work even more closely together".

"I believe there's a lot of potential for Malaysia and Singapore to provide a strong anchor for a more dynamic and competitive Southeast Asian region. Together, we can make this happen." CNA