MALAYSIA remains committed to maintaining friendly economic ties with main trading partners China and Singapore despite differences, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We wish to reiterate that Malaysia is committed to friendly economic ties with all our partners, especially with those we have the strongest and closest links,” he said during his keynote address at Invest Malaysia 2019 in Kuala Lumpur. 

“We may have differences of views – as with Singapore and China – but we see them as close partners.

“They are our top two key trading and investment partners. With mutual respect, we will always find ways to benefit from mutual interests.”

Dr Mahathir said Malaysia has been the friendliest country in Southeast Asia with China for a very long time.

He said that for a trading nation like Malaysia, China is a big market and it is not wise to become unfriendly with a big market. 

Bilateral problems with the economic giant will always be solved in a rational way, the prime minister said.

He added that he will be going to China to learn more on the One Belt One Road project.

As for Singapore, he said neighbours are bound to have their differences, adding that the important thing is on how the problems are managed.

The two countries have been engaged in talks on issues such as maritime boundaries and price of water sold to Singapore, among others.

Dr Mahathir said the water deal is currently a priority.

Revisiting the deal struck between the two in 1926, whereby Malaysia agreed to sell 1,000 gallons of water at 3 sen, Dr Mahathir said that while a lot could be done with 3 sen at the era, that is not the case now. 

“In the agreement made with Singapore, we can negotiate the price after some time, and in the second agreement made with Singapore in 1961, it was agreed that after 25 years, we should review the price of the water. Recently, Singapore said that since we did not review after 25 years, we have lost the opportunity to review.

“But 25 years after 1961, it was 1987 and I was prime minister and I was shouting loudly about this. How come they can say we did not try to negotiate? Now it has been admitted that we can still negotiate and it has been after 25 years,” he said.

He said it is not sensible for Singapore to insist what was agreed in 1926 to stand today. 

Dr Mahathir noted that Johor sells 1,000 gallons of raw water to Malacca for 50 sen, which is a lot more than 3 sen per 1,000 gallons. Malaysia will renegotiate the deal with Singapore, he added.

The premier said Malaysia and Singapore are also negotiating to find a solution for additional connectivity links between the two countries. 

Drawing reference to Penang, which has two bridges linking its mainland and the island as well as an undersea tunnel underway, Dr Mahathir said there is a need for more connectivity between Johor and Singapore, given the size of Johor and the congested traffic which is worse than in Penang.

“Singapore traffic is much bigger than Penang. We have one causeway and one bridge and we need at least three or four more bridges, but for some reason which I cannot understand, Singapore doesn’t want any more bridges,” he said.

The island nation appears to be more keen of a railway link instead of a bridge, he added. – March 19, 2019