Removing..
historical boulders
Amidst great global uncertainties, two neighbours decide its time to end their longstanding quarrels to start anew. By Seah Chiang Nee.
May 29, 2010

AT A time when the world economy is entering a stormy phase, I am happy to see Malaysia and Singapore moving to put their querulous past behind them.

Shortly before the announcement, I had watched with disquiet the world’s markets falling in panic over Europe’s contagion fears – but with one scary difference.

Unlike the previous sell-offs, the prices of virtually every market except bonds fell at the same time last Thursday – stocks, oil, gold and other commodities, including some of Malaysia’s key exports.

Previously, when stocks took a hit people would rush to buy gold, or oil or other commodities, but rarely selling them down all at once.

This time, it was just sell-sell-sell.

What it augurs for either country is not yet clear. But global prospects will clearly be gloomy for years to come.

Then came the announcement by Prime Ministers Mr. Najib Tun Razak and Lee Hsien Loong of the unclogging of their historical conflicts over railway land and water.

That it came at a time of grave financial uncertainty was, of course, unplanned, but its potential threat to our part of the world was probably not lost on either of them.

It will be harder for their peoples to earn a living. To move their countries forward requires that the boulders that stand in the way be first pushed away.

The outside turmoil has made their breakthrough even more momentous.

Having covered the region, I realise that high emotions can still cause trouble in the implementation process.

Nevertheless, it was a historic achievement. The pact has been reported extensively in this newspaper, so I will not repeat the details here.

To me it signifies mutual recognition that the world has moved away from the 1960s, or 70s or even later, and one inhabited by a new generation is now with us.

The current generation would want less to do with bilateral one-upmanship than it does jobs and a better living standard.

Economists now increasingly feel that economic competition is not just domestic or with neighbours, but is worldwide.

Younger Singaporeans and Malaysians – better educated and tech-savvy – are probably keen to deal with each other differently than their parents.

By getting rid of historical conflicts, the two governments can now move to the next stage, capitalising on each other’s strengths to compete with the world.

The agreement will likely lead to closer ties between Singapore and Johor. These follow-ups have already been announced:

* The two sovereign wealth funds, Temasek Holdings (Singapore) and Khazanah Nasional (Malaysia), will launch a 200ha “wellness township” in Johor’s Iskandar within 12 months.

* A rapid transport system will be jointly developed to connect Johor Baru and Woodlands by 2018.

* Toll charges for the Second Link will be cut on both sides; cross-border bus services will be doubled in numbers with eight new bus services; and cross-border taxi services will be liberalised.

By itself, without human goodwill, the agreement could still fail; neither will it automatically change history.

The potentials of success, however, are immense.

For a journalist who has reported the frequent bouts of quarrels in the past 40 years, it represents a milestone.

For years, I have attended numerous meetings and written about the Growth Triangle (Johor-Singapore-Batam) which despite being purposeful and well-intentioned somehow fell short.

I once questioned why the Growth Triangle, especially between Johor and Singapore, had failed relative to the booming Shenzhen-Hong Kong zone.

That was a generation ago. After all, the two groupings shared similar conditions and objectives, which were to hitch on to the strengths of the other while covering their weakness for the common good.

My conclusion was there was too much mistrust between Singapore and Malaysia, not there in southern China.

Jim Baker, a history and economics teacher at the Singapore American School, reportedly said: “The relationship is one of co-dependency enmeshed in race and national pride.”

From Singapore’s perspective, water had always been the biggest factor in its relationship with Malaysia, especially in negotiations.

Its recent success in recycling water to meet its long-term survival was a vital reassurance.

The other was Malaysia nodding its head to move its railway station to Woodlands by next July 1 and giving up rights to rail land that runs across the heart of Singapore.

This land will be jointly developed by Khazanah (60%) and Temasek (40%); that could be worth billions.

This consists of the Tanjong Pagar KTM site and five other parcels of land owned by Malaysia. They may be swapped for pieces of land of equivalent value in Marina South and/or the Ophir and Rochor area.

Predictably, the agreement has – as in Malaysia – come under attack in Singapore from people who believe that they have lost out by rushing to sign.

They feel that Singapore, with water no longer a threat, should have kept up the impasse until the other side blinked, or alternatively asked for more.

One blogger wrote: “Malaysia is running out of oil. At the current rate of budget deficit, it could join Greece or Iceland. Najib knows the peril and needs Singapore’s investments.”

Another demanded to know why Lee had settled for only 40% control of the venture. “It’s dangerous to let Malaysia have the majority say,” he added.

The broad consensus is different.

People generally feel that it could herald a new flourishing era when Singaporeans and Malaysians can move freely across the Causeway.

The question is: Will the next generation look back and tell their kids: “Our biggest change came in 2010.”

(This was first published in The Star on May 29, 2010)