PM Lawrence Wong at the Q&A Segment of the 12th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat Joint Press Conference

CNA: PMs, you both have spoken about the warm, candid ties and also the strong working relationship between the two governments, but when it comes to dealing with the more complex long-standing issues – airspace, maritime boundaries, water – what specifically has changed in the way that you have guided your teams in terms of approaching these matters, and is there a timeline for any sort of resolution for these? Thank you.

PM Wong: The long-standing issues are long-standing for a reason; they are complex, there are differences in views, and therefore we have to continue engaging one another. What is important is how we go about that engagement, and we do so in a constructive spirit, with mutual respect, trying to understand one another's positions. We try to resolve these issues in accordance with international law and to achieve durable and mutually beneficial outcomes. Not always easy to do that, but we can continue to talk and make progress. For example, on airspace, as you heard just now from Prime Minister Anwar, we had a very fruitful discussion today; recognising that airspace management is not about sovereignty. It is about air traffic management for both countries and to meet the current and future needs of our respective airports. In Malaysia's case, KLIA and Senai, in Singapore's case, Changi and Seletar. And it is about recognising that in the new environment where air traffic volumes have gone up, especially for Malaysia East-West traffic, then we will have to look at how best to optimise air traffic management. And we are,  both sides, committed to doing this through a joint study, and that's what we have settled – the principles, the parameters, and we are moving forward. Not completely resolved yet, but moving forward in a constructive approach, in the spirit of working together and trying to find win-win solutions. So it is in that same spirit which we will engage with the other outstanding matters. It is not so much to say we have to resolve all these by a certain timeline. We have to be realistic, but so long as we continue engaging one another, making progress, and importantly, even if we cannot resolve the issues completely, we do not allow them to colour or to undermine the rest of our relationship. We can still cooperate in other areas, like the SEZ, which we are working together on. So that is the approach we have been taking, and that is I think, a very good approach for two close countries, close friends, close neighbours, to work together, in a positive manner.

Bernama: So the RTS link is said to ease congestion, but not completely replace causeway traffic,  how is Malaysia coordinating long-term border infrastructure planning with Singapore. Are there discussions on future-proofing the Causeway or exploring additional links to support rising mobility and economic integration? Thank you.

PM: We are continuing our collaboration, particularly in terms of facilitating the very high volume of traffic on both sides of the Causeway. The RTS will be a tremendous asset here, so we already have signed the Agreement. We are working towards completion of the RTS link. No doubt it will be a major game-changer. Of course, the traffic will flow beyond just using the rail. There will be other forms of traffic demands, including taxis and buses.

So we know that demand for cross-border taxis has been going up, for example. The increase has been so significant that the taxi companies have not been able to meet that demand, and you have ended up with illegal services coming up to meet those demands. And I think that is something we can resolve. That is why the both transport ministries have been discussing to enhance the cross border taxi services, the legal ones, so that we can have more services, more options, to benefit commuters on both sides. The officials and Ministers have been making good progress on that discussion, and I'm sure they will be able to provide some updates soon. That is one example. Buses are yet another way – to provide more linkages, and that too, the officials are discussing, so whether it is through rail, car or bus, different kinds of commuting options, we will facilitate. We will provide more options, more convenience. And on the Singapore end, we are making a major upgrade to the Woodlands Checkpoint. I shared this with Singaporeans recently – our upgrading plans and the significant upgrade that we are doing will again be helpful to facilitate the flow of commuters across both sides of the Causeway.

 
ZB: My questions are on the long-standing issues as well. The first one will be on water supply. There have been incidents of water pollution in Johor, and we also know that new technologies, like data centers, are heavily reliant on water supply. So how are both countries seeking to manage these further strains and challenges on the water supply? The second one: PM Wong, you touched on this on cross-border transport, including taxis, e-hailing, you mentioned that there's good progress on negotiation. Can both countries share what are some of the primary concerns to be resolved before final agreement can be reached? Thank you.

 
PM: On water, I mentioned just now there is some shared interest. It is not an immediate, pressing issue, because we have got good rainfall in these past recent years, so no pressing, immediate issues. But we know that demand is growing, demand in Johor for water is growing with the industries and the investments that it is attracting. And importantly, we know that when extreme weather changes happen – it has happened in the past – we can have dry spells, for example, we could also have disruption scenarios that may not be completely anticipated. So in light of those longer-term considerations, the officials on both sides have been meeting to see if there are possibilities for collaboration, especially to do more new infrastructure that will strengthen the resilience of water supply with benefits for both Johor and also for Singapore, under our 1962 Water Agreement. So that is where it stands now. Officials have been discussing, and both PM Anwar and I will continue to encourage the officials to meet regularly and put out concrete proposals for collaboration when they are ready.

On the second question of cross-border taxis, this is an area where there is a lot of common ground. This is not one of those outstanding bilateral issues that will take years and years to resolve. There is a lot of common ground, because demand is going up. People want to travel cross-border, and the present services are not able to cope with the rising demand. So, it is quite a straightforward matter of expanding the scope of today's cross-border services so that there will be more options for commuters. But there are details, of course, that need to be worked out. The Transport Ministers have been meeting. They just updated us  – in fact, just now – on the discussions; it looks like there have been very good progress, and I am sure commuters on both sides will look forward to the updates in due course.

TV3: So both parties said that you all have mutual areas of interest that have been discussed, which include health cooperation and the fight against drugs. In the matter of drugs, Singapore maintains the capital punishment, and a number of Malaysian have been hung. So was this among the issues discussed?

PM: It was not a matter that was raised or discussed during our meetings, but Singapore's strong and tough stance against drugs is very clear. We have maintained that position for a very long time. There is strong support for Singaporeans for that position too. It is a position we take because we really want to ensure that Singaporeans can grow up in an environment where we are free from drugs, and where parents and families and children would never be subject to the fears and the problems that are associated with drugs. That is the approach we have taken, and that is the approach that Singapore will continue to take. So, it has not resulted in bilateral issues, it was not raised, but we hope that all countries understand the rationale for our strong stance and respect the way in which we can go about conducting our policies on this front.