PM Lawrence Wong at the 12th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat Joint Press Conference

Prime Minister Anwar

Excellencies and Distinguished Guests

I am very pleased to welcome Prime Minister Anwar and his delegation back to Singapore. This is our second Leaders’ Retreat together, and it is taking place in a milestone year when both our countries mark the 60^th anniversary of diplomatic ties.  

Of course, aside from the Leaders’ Retreat, Prime Minister Anwar and I have met many times – both bilaterally and on the sidelines of multilateral forums. I always value the engagements with him and our personal friendship. Because we have candid and constructive discussions and we both focus on what we can achieve together as close neighbours, good friends and for the benefit of both our peoples.

Bilateral Cooperation

In that spirit, we have continued to strengthen our people-to-people and cultural ties. We have just exchanged MOUs on Health Cooperation and the Fight against Drugs, which will enable us to learn from one other in these areas of interest, and strengthen the resilience of our societies. We have stepped up exchanges between our officials, including education and cultural exchanges. Last year, we had a successful joint inscription of the Kebaya on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity together with our ASEAN neighbours. This year, we are putting up a joint nomination of Chingay. I am also very happy that Malaysia has formally agreed to Singapore’s proposal to open consulates in Sabah and Sarawak.  This will allow Singapore to provide consular services to Singaporeans there  and deepen the already robust ties between our peoples. 

Importantly this year, we made very good progress on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Singapore-based companies have committed over S$5.5 billion in investments in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone since January 2024. So we welcome the ratification of the SEZ Agreement, and there is tremendous potential for this to grow further. We have only just begun.

The potential is much greater going forward, especially with improved transport connectivity. And this will happen with the completion of the RTS Link. We have signed the Supplementary Agreement to the RTS Link Bilateral Agreement; this will facilitate preparations for co-located CIQ facilities and the eventual operationalisation of the RTS. Officials are discussing reciprocal improvements to the Cross-Border Taxi Scheme, and this is with a common goal of providing more convenient options to our commuters. Both sides have introduced initiatives like QR-code customs clearance and automated lanes to reduce congestion at our land checkpoints. On our end, Singapore is redeveloping Woodlands Checkpoint to expand its capacity, to improve efficiency and the traveller experience.

There has also been good momentum in our energy partnership. EMA recently awarded the Conditional Approval for a proposal to import low-carbon electricity from Sarawak to Singapore.  And we are planning to expand the capacity for cross-border electricity trade between Malaysia and Singapore through a second electricity interconnector. These projects will bring us closer to a low-carbon future, create more opportunities, and support the development of the ASEAN Power Grid.

Outstanding Issues

PM Anwar and I also discussed outstanding bilateral issues, which include airspace, water, and maritime delimitation.

These are longstanding issues.

Let me briefly recap what they are about. On airspace, it is about the arrangements for air traffic management to meet the current and future needs of both countries, especially with the growing air traffic in our region. This means KLIA and Senai in Malaysia, and Changi and Seletar Airports in Singapore will have to operate safely and efficiently, in line with ICAO requirements. Officials are discussing how best this can be done. On water – it is not a pressing issue, but we both have a shared interest to increase the yield and safeguard the water quality of the Johor River. We want to do this to guard against potential extreme weather changes or disruption scenarios that may happen. So that we can be assured of a resilient supply of water to meet growing needs in Johor, and also to meet Singapore’s needs as provided for under the 1962 Agreement. We have also opened on both sides, without prejudice to one another’s positions – to having discussion on the price of raw and treated water. On maritime boundary delimitations – this is about setting the boundaries on both the East and West. Officials on both sides have had several rounds of discussions, they have had a better understanding of one another’s positions. But they will still need time to resolve them.

All of these outstanding bilateral issues are complex issues. There are differences in views and they are not easy to resolve. But as good neighbours, we will continue engaging in good faith. Prime Minister Anwar and I have therefore guided our officials to continue their discussions in a constructive spirit and with mutual respect, and we look forward to working with Malaysia to achieve positive and durable outcomes, with a balance of benefits for both sides.   

Even as we continue these discussions, we will ensure we maintain the positive tenor of our overall relationship and do not allow these issues to colour or undermine our overall cooperation.

Conclusion

As fellow founding members of ASEAN, Singapore and Malaysia will also join hands to uphold ASEAN Centrality, which is a cornerstone of regional peace and prosperity. 

Malaysia has just very successfully chaired ASEAN this year through Prime Minister Anwar’s strong leadership. We will build on that to advance regional integration and keep our external partners engaged.

To conclude, both Malaysia and Singapore should be proud of what we have accomplished together these past 60 years – both bilaterally and in our region.

I am grateful for Prime Minister Anwar’s friendship, leadership, and support. And I am glad to find in him a partner who is equally committed to ensuring that our ties continue to flourish for many more years to come. In one of our early meetings, Prime Minister Anwar said that Malaysia and Singapore should be role models for the rest of the world on how good neighbours should work together. I am fully committed to upholding that same vision, and I look forward to working closely together with him and his team to further strengthen our partnership and uplift the citizens of both our countries. Thank you.