SINGAPORE — Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived Singapore today (30 January) for an official visit.
At an official lunch in honour of Mr Anwar today, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia is “quite unlike any other” and is happy to continue working closely to advance bilateral ties.
“Our people have deep family ties,” said PM Lee and noted that both countries were bound by geography and a shared history.
He added that both countries had deepened cooperation in almost every domain, including health, education, culture, supply chain resilience and connectivity.
He said the Singapore-Malaysia partnership had stood up to the test during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Even as supply chains all across the world were disrupted, people and goods continued to flow safely and smoothly between Malaysia and Singapore.”
He believed that travel between Johor Bahru and Singapore would become even easier once the Rail Transit System (RTS) Link completed in 2026.
Anwar: no issues should be unresolved
Mr Anwar said he had meaningful discussions with PM Lee, “There were, of course, more contentious outstanding issues. And I’m glad to say that both of us feel that bilateral relations must be enhanced.”
He stressed that no issues should be unresolved and both sides should try and do their utmost to enhance this relationship and work together for the benefit of both countries.
“We want both Singaporeans and Malaysians to understand and appreciate the fact that these are two great countries and two great neighbours that could do so much more for the benefit of our people,” Mr Anwar said.
“Therefore it’s up to our colleagues to proceed, to move forward, not only in terms of trade, investments, security and resolving all these issues… (such as) FIR (Flight Information Region), RTS (Rapid Transit System), Causeway… which must be done for the benefit of our people.”
Anwar’s third overseas official visit
Mr Anwar and his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, landed at the VIP Complex, Changi International Airport, at 9.40 am today.
Malaysian delegates were greeted by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister, at the Changi Airport.
This is Mr Anwar’s third overseas official visit after he was sworn in as the Malaysia 10th Prime Minister on 24 November.
He visited Indonesia on 8 January and made a second official visit to Brunei last week.
In his recent Facebook post, Mr Anwar shared that he is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Zambry Abdul Kadir, Minister of Transport Anthony Loke, Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz, and Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil.
Premier of Sarawak, Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari and Menteri Besar of Johor Onn Hafiz Ghazi are also part of the official delegation.
PM Lee had invited Mr Anwar to visit Singapore last November to discuss the common issues between these two countries and to further advance the bilateral relationship.
The two PMs also witnessed the signing of three agreements between Singapore and Malaysia.
Mr Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry and Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz, signed the two frameworks of cooperation for digital and green economy.
The third agreement is a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of personal data protection, cyber security and digital economy, inked by Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo and Malaysia’s Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil.
Mr Anwar was also honoured by PM Lee, who named a hybrid orchid species after ‘Dendrobium Anwar Azizah’ in conjunction with his official visit to Singapore:
