Malaysia’s PM Muhyiddin Yassin congratulates PM Lee Hsien Loong on election victory

Singapore — On July 12, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin congratulated Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the PAP’s recent win in the elections. To PM Muhyiddin, this win is vital in the bilateral cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.

Being neighbours and being part of ASEAN, PM Muhyiddin stated that long-term cooperation is vital in ensuring that citizens of both countries will continue to reap benefits and enjoy peace in the region. He added that it is especially important that all issues between Singapore and Malaysia be resolved through peaceful means, with diplomatic negotiation taking the forefront in any potential conflicts.

PM Muhyiddin also shed light on the developments regarding the connectivity between Singapore and Malaysia, specifically cross-border arrangements.

With Covid-19 and the travel restrictions in place, the leaders from the two countries came to an agreement to allow some travel, such as the agreement to establish the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and a Periodic Commuting Agreement (PCA) for various travellers.

The RGL allows for cross-border travel for essential business and official purposes between both countries while the PCA allows Singapore and Malaysia residents who are holding long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes in the other country to periodically return to their home countries for a short-term.

He also stated that there is on-going negotiations with Singapore over the completion of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link Project, which he hopes will finalise soon. With regards to this, it was stated on Sunday (July 12) Singapore’s Ministry of Transport is hopeful that negotiations with regard to the RTS can be concluded by end-July.

Malaysia’s transport minister has also stated that Malaysia would wait for the new government in Singapore to be formed, before the negotiations can be completed by the deadline.

Lastly, PM Muhyiddin thanked Singapore for agreeing to Malaysia’s request for the suspension of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Railway Project from June 1 to December 31, 2020 at no cost and penalty to Malaysia. This was seen as an act of good will and a reflection of friendly relations between the two.

Ultimately, it can be said that PM Muhyiddin is hopeful that under PAP’s renewed leadership, the bilateral relations between the two countries can continue to grow and strengthen. -/TISG