He said the nation's airspace involved the country’s sovereignty and security and should not be used as a trading tool.

Mohamed Khaled, who is also Pasir Gudang Umno chief, said Singapore should release the money because it belonged to Malaysians.

“The money was contributed by Malaysians to the CPF and it is rightly theirs. They should not be stopped from taking back what is theirs,” he said after opening an entrepreneurship carnival for university students here yesterday.

Mohamed Khaled said Johor Umno also felt that the matter should not be included in the negotiations to resolve problems between the two countries.

Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said after a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Putrajaya on Dec 13 that the Malaysian Government would consider allowing Singapore Air Force (SAF) jets to use Malaysian airspace for training.

Goh had said that if it could be done, he would have no hesitation in releasing the CPF funds of Malaysians and would consider the joint development of Keretapi Tanah Melayu’s land in Singapore.

The island republic only allowed Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak to withdraw their savings in the CPF.

When winding up the debate on the 2005 Budget at the state assembly on Tuesday, Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman had said that the Johor Government was concerned that the SAF might be allowed to train in Malaysian airspace.

He had said that there had been many complaints from residents in the Gelang Patah area about the nuisance caused by the low-flying jets.

Malaysia closed its airspace to the SAF in 1998 after considering national and public interests and the demand of residents in the affected areas.

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