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Wednesday May 16, 2007

Singapore keen on helping to make IDR a huge success

By MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR

LANGKAWI: The warming of relations between Malaysia and Singapore in the last two years was given a further boost when the island republic’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pledged to support the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

In the first get-together of the Malaysian and Singaporean leaders, they agreed to set up a special ministerial committee to discuss areas of co-operation including the usage of smartcards for easier travel between IDR and Singapore and promotion of tourism.

A minister will be appointed from each country to sit on the committee.

Singapore’s announcement had been anticipated by Malaysia and welcomed by officials who described the two leaders as having the right chemistry to move bilateral relations in the right direction.

Durian party: Abdullah and Lee choosing durians in Langkawi yesterday.
In the last 24 hours since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Lee arrived here, they have spent time together having dinner, breakfast, lunch and at a durian-eating session.

The mood, even during the press conference, was jovial when Lee took a jab at Abdullah saying “You pecah lubang” (you revealed the secret) when Abdullah announced to the press they would be going on a cruise for lunch.

At a joint press conference with Lee, Abdullah said the IDR would be an important growth area that could be a catalyst in the development of other countries in Asean.

“We are after quality development. I see the position of Singapore vis a vis the IDR like that of Hong Kong to Shenzhen,” he said at the end of their two-day informal talks.

Asked about the kind of investments Singapore would be interested in, Abdullah said the leaders had not gone into the details.

“As far as investments are concerned, we have other bodies to decide on proposals from other countries. This special committee will not decide investment matters,” he said.

Lee described his visit as “forward looking” in seeing new areas that Malaysia and Singapore could work on.

“With China and India – two giants on the radar – we need to make sure that these little spots that is Asean get together and become something significant for investors.

“On that basis, we need to work together because our co-operative interest far outweighs our competitive concerns and one of the major areas we can work on together is the IDR as it is a major project for Malaysia,” Lee said.

He said the IDR would also be good for Singapore because of the opportunities available on both sides of the Straits of Johor.

“We have made an assessment of IDR and decided it is fundamentally good for us if this project takes off and succeeds ,” he added.

Both leaders also agreed to have another get-together in Singapore with Lee declaring they should do it more regularly.

“I explained to the Prime Minister that ours is a relationship which is on-going, that it is important for the leaders to have continuing exchanges.

“The Prime Ministers are here, the ministers are here. We talk together, we play golf, spend an evening together and we should do this regularly.

“I hope the next time, the Prime Minister brings his team to Singapore and we host a retreat. I look forward to it,” Lee said.

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