Eye on Singapore

Fellow comrades,

NST reported today that Pak Lah and Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong have decided on having a cruise together next Tuesday at Langkawi. According to our Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, the "get together" was held because "the Singaporean Prime Minister expressed a desire to visit Malaysia" and Pak Lah decided to invite him over. Considering the current "warm" relations that we're having with the island Republic, the FM suggested that it was pertinent that the "outstanding" issues that we have with Singapore i.e. water sold to Singapore, KTM Berhad land in Singapore and the use of Malaysian airspace by the Singapore Air Force; be resolved. Although he said that no set agenda was planned, the mentioning of these issues seem to suggest that they would be the hot topic during the get-together. It would be hard to expect much from this meeting as PM Lee will only be here for a night. Lets look at the outstanding issues and see how important they are to our interests:

1. Water sold to Singapore - Half of Singapore's water comes from Malaysia through agreements that runs until 2061 and 2061. We've been selling it at $0.007 per 1000 gallons while they've sold treated water back to us for $0.13 per 1000 gallons. Although they've been accused of profiteering from this deal, Singapore has argued that the cost of treating water is much higher and in fact they're the one who's losing money. Most recently, when the crooked/scenic/farcical bridge negotiations were at its peak, Singapore's Second Foreign Minister Raymond Lim mentioned how the demolition and replacement of Malaysia's side of the causeway would result in the disruption of the pipeline that has been used to send our water to Singapore. Pak Lah mentioned back then that they've always been worried about us cutting their water supply although it has never been our policy to do so. I've remember clearly reading in a foreign publication that we've actually been using the water issue as a bullying tactic to force Singapore in submitting to our every wishes. Clearly, our Cabinet's decision to scrap the bridge plan dismisses this suggestion. Singapore has been building water recycling and desalination plants in order to alleviate its dependence on our water supply. We may lose this bargaining chip in a few years since they've been so good at making their own water to the point where they might even be exporting them soon.

2. KTM Berhad land - I remember reading in a foreign publication once that we've removed a sign that said "Selamat Datang ke Malaya" from that plot of land as a nice gesture to the Singaporeans. Now they want us to remove everything else that we own there. This is a very complicated issue that can find its roots from the days of yore when the Brits were still in power. This article has a very detailed explanation in the last few paragraphs. Suffice it to say and if I'm right: we have land there that we may not legally own if we don't use - they want it - they're willing to exchange it for another plot of land that's of equal value - for some reason we don't want to let go of it. Beats me.

3. Use of Malaysian airspace by the Singapore Air Force - this issue probably gained prominence most recently when Singapore wanted it as part of the bridge agreement. Our FM has reportedly said that allowing this won't affect our sovereignty. How that can be justified is unclear to me. Although I would have to say that should the roof on my house be invisible, I'd be a tad worried. And allowing my neighbour to watch me from above while I'm on the throne is the least of my worries.

An additional issue brought up by former Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister today:

4. The return of Central Provident Fund (CPF) to Malaysians who were employed in Singapore - reportedly, Malaysians have contibuted RM$2 billion to Singapore's CPF. Legally, Singapore is on the right as the pensioners agreed to having the CPF taken from their wages before being employed. So, what they actually want is for Singapore to be nice and give them back that money for them to live out the rest of their days in comfort.

Clearly, there have been plenty of mistrust and disagreement between our two countries even before our separation in 1963. Hopefully the future bodes well for us. Our people share a lot of things in common, last of which is hatred for one another. Should our leaders take note of this, maybe the rhetorics can be toned down and the benefits that a closer partneship can bring about, particularly on both our economies, will be realised.


Godspeed,
Fadli