.JPG "Singaporeu00e2u20acu2122s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks while Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad looks on during a joint news conference in Putrajaya April 9, 2019. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Mukhriz Hazim")
PUTRAJAYA, April 9 ― Malaysia and Singapore’s maritime and airspace borders dispute could irreparably damage the two country’s relations if unchecked, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned today.
He also described border issues as a constant given that both countries are neighbours.
“If it is managed well, it can be productive for both countries and also the relationship will blossom.
“If not managed well, it can cause a lot of trouble and poison the relationship,” he told a joint press conference with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad here.
Lee said this worry was behind his decision to pen a letter to Dr Mahathir explaining his stand on the matter, which was delivered in Putrajaya by his deputy Teo Chee Hean in December.
Teo, who is also Singapore’s coordinating minister for national security, called on Dr Mahathir then together with his country’s finance minister, Heng Swee Keat.
Earlier in today’s press conference, Dr Mahathir lauded both countries for always being “on talking terms” and for peaceably communicating their grouses either publicly or privately.
“What we have not done is we have not confronted each other, or suggest we should resolve our problems through violent actions like going to war … this is not a minor achievement,” the prime minister said.
In reply, Lee said the two countries continue to have a close relationship, even as they drifted apart since their separation in 1965.
“Within the Asean and global context, Malaysia and Singapore are very similar countries... we even argue (over) who invented some of our food first,” Lee said, drawing laughter from the media.
Singapore recently sparked a cross-border culinary clash with Malaysia after it nominated street food common to both countries for recognition as part of the republic’s intangible cultural heritage by Unesco.
In a separate joint statement, both leaders reiterated their commitment to preserving the vital relations and to improving bilateral ties on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
