Singapore PM: I was careful not to 'poison' bilateral ties

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recounted today how he had previously attempted to “turn things around” for bilateral relations with Malaysia.

Speaking after the annual Singapore-Malaysia leaders retreat in Putrajaya today, he cautioned that ties risked being “poisoned” if maritime and airspace issues were not managed well.

“These are continuing issues because we will always have maritime boundaries with each other.

"We will always have civil aviation needs (and) both countries also have a need to agree on arrangements on managing airspace.

“So if it is managed well, then it can be productive for both countries and the whole relationship can prosper.

“If it is not managed well, it can cause a lot of trouble and poison the overall relationship,” he said when asked during a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

Lee shared how he previously had concerns that the island state’s relationship with Malaysia was “not going in the right direction”.

“That was the reason why in December (last year), I wrote a letter to Dr Mahathir and asked (Singaporean) Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean to come and visit, together with Finance Minister Heng Swe Keat.

“[...] And I’m very happy that Dr Mahathir gave them a hearing, took in what they said and took action on the Malaysian side which enabled our ministers to meet their ministers and to turn things around gradually to bring (us) to where we are today,” he said.

Mahathir, meanwhile, commented that bilateral ties had always been good, despite “problems”.

“At least we are always on talking terms. 

“And when we have problems we air our problems sometimes publicly, sometimes privately.

“What we have not done is we have not confronted each other or even decided we have to resolve our problems through violent actions like going to war with Singapore,” he said to an earlier question. 

(More to follow) -Mkini