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Wednesday April 27, 2005

Spat with Singapore settled

BY MAZWIN NIK ANIS

SINGAPORE: Malaysia and Singapore have signed an agreement which ends a three-year quarrel over the republic’s land reclamation in the Straits of Johor, marking a further improvement in their bilateral relations.

The Settlement Agreement signed yesterday provides for Singapore to modify its reclamation work area and ensure navigational safety and environmental protection as well as pay compensation to Malaysian fishermen.

Officials of the two countries have hailed the signing of the 16-point agreement, which they said would pave the way for the resolving of other issues.

The agreement terminates the land reclamation case brought before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

Malaysia had referred the dispute to ITLOS which, on Oct 8, 2003, had directed the two countries to conduct a joint study and propose mitigating measures.

The parties will jointly request that the Tribunal adopt the terms of the agreement in the form of a final and binding award.

Under the agreement, Singapore will modify the final design of the shoreline as recommended by the Group of Independent Experts (GOE) in its final report to ensure the smooth flow of ships and the safety of the shipping lane. Compensation totalling RM374,400 will be given to Malaysian fishermen, based on RM5,200 per fisherman, for losses as a result of the reclamation works.

The terms of reference of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE) will be expanded to include exchange of information and discussion on matters affecting their environments in the Straits of Johor. The committee will also undertake monitoring activities on their environments and address any adverse impact.

The agreement was signed by Foreign Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abd Razak and Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Prof Tommy Koh. It was witnessed by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and his Singapore counterpart, George Yeo.

Syed Hamid said the ceremony was a milestone in Malaysia-Singapore relations, representing the culmination of collaboration of efforts over more than a year.

“This Settlement Agreement bears eloquent testimony to the fact that given the political will and the spirit of cooperation and compromise, even seemingly contentious issues can be amicably resolved,” he said.

“This agreement will stand out as an exemplary mode of peaceful resolution of disputes between states.’’

Yeo, sharing Syed Hamid’s views, said that with the signing, “we will be closing an old chapter on a bilateral dispute which began during a period of more troubled bilateral relations but ends today”.

“The civil and civilised manner in which we have been able to settle this dispute gives us confidence that our other bilateral disputes can be settled in the same way,” he added.

In Putrajaya, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the outstanding issues between Malaysia and Singapore would be tackled “one by one”.

“We want to resolve all our problems with our neighbours through diplomacy. We will only consider other means if diplomatic approaches fail,” he told reporters after briefing Mentris Besar and State Religious excos on Islam Hadhari at the Marriott Hotel here.

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