Singapore has not received official proposal on third link from Johor: MFA

SINGAPORE — Singapore has not received any official proposal or communication from Malaysia related to the construction of any new road link between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Friday (Dec 28).

The statement was made in response to media queries about comments made by Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian to Malaysian media on Thursday.

According to Malaysian Chinese-language press, he had spoken of plans to build a third link between Malaysia and Singapore next year, with Johor hosting the bridge in the south-eastern district of Pengerang, in Kota Tinggi district.

This is not the first time Mr Osman has talked about a possible third link. In August, he told Malaysian media that Johor would like to build a bridge in Sungai Rengit in Pengerang that would link to Pulau Ubin in Singapore.

Malaysian media reported that Mr Osman also said on Thursday he will raise the issue of the ongoing airspace and maritime disputes at the Singapore-Malaysia Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) for Iskandar Malaysia next year.

In its statement, the MFA said the JMC is a regular bilateral platform for both countries to review the progress of economic co-operation in Iskandar Malaysia.

It is next scheduled to meet in January.

“The JMC for Iskandar Malaysia does not have the mandate to discuss issues related to the Johor Bahru port limits issue,” the MFA said.