"On the whole, our relations with Malaysia are good and getting better," George Yeo told Parliament on Monday, Mar 5.

Singapore and Malaysia have for decades shared uneasy relations over a host of irritants. Most recently, Kuala Lumpur blamed its neighbor's land reclamation activities for January floods in southern Malaysia, some of the worst in recent memory.

Yeo said that while there are some unresolved issues, the countries were working on "a more mature track."

He said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart, Abdullah Badawi, would meet in Malaysia in May.

The Malaysian foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, was quoted recently in Singapore's Straits Times newspaper as saying bilateral ties between the neighbors "have never been better."

Malaysian officials have publicly acknowledged improving bilateral relations since Abdullah replaced longtime leader Mahathir Mohamad. There has been no official announcement on a meeting between the two leaders from the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office or its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Yeo said he agreed with that comment and added that he welcomed the new phase in the relationship.

"Close cooperation between our two countries will benefit our peoples," he said, and noted that Singapore hopes to open a consulate in Johor, Malaysia's southernmost state and a popular destination for Singaporeans. He said that the plan had been welcomed by Syed Hamid at a meeting last week in Cambodia.

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