Bold Moves By Najib, Hsien Loong To Strengthen Bilateral Ties

26 May 2010 , By Bernama

"In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might," so said British statesman and orator, the late Sir Winston Churchill, when he spoke about overcoming obstacles.

Perhaps it was this spirit that served as a guiding force when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, met recently to resolve the protracted issue over the Malayan Railway (KTM Berhad) land in Singapore.

Some of the problems that existed between Malaysia and Singapore had once been described as "dead-knot" issues by Singapore's then Prime Minister and now Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Chok Tong even suggested about six years ago that both sides "unscramble the package" in reference to finding solutions to the points of disagreements between the two countries.

Najib and Hsien Loong perhaps did just that, tackling the issues in bite sizes. It wasn't an easy path towards resolution since the land in question dates back to a 1918 colonial ordinance pertaining to the use of 217 hectares of land and stretching some 20 to 30 km into Singapore by Malayan Railway (KTM Berhad) for 999 years.

And in land-scarce Singapore, 217 ha is a lot of land, and prime land at that.

The latest proposal to jointly develop six parcels of land in Tanjung Pagar, Woodlands, Kranji and Bukit Timah reflects a win-win solution to the impasse as it involves property in a foreign country.

Having a solution is better than no solution at all, especially in view of the symbiotic relationship between the two countries. Perhaps the two leaders took cognisance of the view taken by Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner, John Hume, who said that "When people are divided, the only solution is agreement".

A lot of groundwork on the details, including the land valuation, will have to be completed before things can start moving. And this can only be done when Najib and Hsien Loong meet again in about a month to finalise the details.

These would also pertain to KTM Berhad relocating its present railway terminus at Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands by July 1, 2011, development of the six parcels of land by M-S Pte Land, a joint venture company with Khazanah Nasional Bhd holding 60 per cent of the equity and Singapore's Temasek Holdings the balance, a rapid transit system between Tanjung Puteri in Johor Baharu and Singapore by 2018, and a jointly-owned wellness township covering 202.3 ha in Iskandar Malaysia in Johor.

The resolution of the KTM Berhad land issue presents a lot of promise in the years to come amidst the backdrop of improving bilateral relations between Malaysia and Singapore.

This would not only benefit construction and property-related companies in Singapore, but also those in Malaysia by virtue of the involvement of Khazanah Nasional, the Malaysian government's investment holding arm empowered to be a strategic investor in new industries and markets.

What is significant is that both Najib and Hsien Loong had broken the deadlock that gripped Malaysia and Singapore for almost 20 years.

It is important to remember what Najib said when he first met Hsien Loong in May last year: "We should be bold enough, imaginative enough, courageous enough to represent a new generation of Malaysians and Singaporeans who want this relationship to be a strong, productive and enduring one."

And Najib also did say: "The most important thing is to be in a positive mode, think in terms of what we can gain from our bilateral relationship rather than going back into the old mindset where we start exchanging rather sharp rhetoric between our two countries."