KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will visit Malaysia this Saturday and meet with his new Malaysian counterpart Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Lee announced his visit during a wide-ranging speech in Parliament today, where he addressed the implications of external changes on Singapore. He described the May 9 election in Malaysia as a "momentous development”, where the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition lost power for the first time in six decades.

"As Malaysia’s closest neighbour, we need to pay close attention to our relationship with them,” added Lee. "The two countries have deep historical, economic and people-to-people ties. We hope Malaysia is stable and prosperous.”

Dr Mahathir led the Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance to a historic victory last Wednesday, winning at least 113 of the 222 Parliamentary seats up for grabs. Days later, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was barred from leaving the country, and resigned from his leadership positions in BN and its lynchpin party, Umno.

Lee said Singapore enjoyed good relations with Malaysia under both Najib and Dr Mahathir, who was previously the Malaysian premier from 1981 to 2003.

He added: "We have enjoyed good relations with Malaysia under former PM Najib Razak, and cooperated on major projects that benefit both sides.

"We have also worked with Dr Mahathir and several of his team before. We completed several joint projects when Dr Mahathir was last PM, including the Second Link at Tuas.”

Lee’s comments came as long-time Malaysian Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim regained his freedom and was given a full royal pardon today.

Anwar was serving a second five-year jail term for sodomy. He and his supporters have said the charges were politically motivated. The royal pardon reversing his conviction will make him eligible to actively participate in politics, though Anwar said today after his release that he was in no hurry.

Lee noted that he was Singapore’s deputy prime minister when Anwar was last in office as Malaysia’s deputy premier, from 1993 to 1998. — TODAY