Obbana Rajah
Late last night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took to Facebook to extend warm wishes and congratulations to Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on being sworn in as the Prime Minister.
PM Lee posted his message on Facebook only after Dr. Mahathir was officially sworn in. His opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan won Malaysia’s 14th general election in a rather unexpected turn of events and many were shocked at the results.
In his post, PM Lee said,
“Congratulations to Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad on being sworn in as the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
I wish Tun Mahathir and his team every success, and hope to catch up with him in person soon. Malaysia is a vital partner of Singapore, and our peoples share strong and deep bonds. I look forward to working with Tun Mahathir and the new government to enhance our cooperation. We can do much more together. – LHL”
Along with his personal message of congratulations was the congratulatory statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It read:
“The Singapore Government congratulates the new Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan on the outcome of the General Election yesterday. The people of Malaysia have given the new Government a clear mandate to lead the country. Malaysia is Singapore’s nearest neighbour and a vital partner. We have had close relations and extensive cooperation with successive Malaysian governments, including the government of Tun Mahathir when he was previously Prime Minister. We look forward to cooperating with Tun Mahathir and the new Government of Malaysia to further strengthen and deepen bilateral ties, for the benefit of both our peoples.”
Many netizens used the opportunity to offer their wishes as well.
obbana@theindependent.sg