KL has met S'pore's concerns over CIQ issue

Letter from Malaysian minister clarifies certain issues
and Singapore 'is ready to discuss the package of outstanding issues'

MALAYSIA has met Singapore's concerns over the sovereignty and other legal issues concerning their customs and immigration dispute, and the republic is now ready to discuss outstanding bilateral matters as a package.

A Foreign ministry spokesman here said yesterday that Malaysia had sent a letter with a paper attached, clarifying certain issues over the presence of its customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) facilities at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in Singapore.

"The reply has met our concerns over the sovereignty and other legal issues," the spokesman said.

"Singapore has replied that, on the basis of its response to Malaysia's paper, it is ready to proceed to discuss the package of outstanding issues, as agreed to by the two prime ministers in Hanoi on Dec 17, 1998.

"Singapore has asked Malaysia to indicate when it wishes to commence negotiations on the package."

He was replying to media queries on a statement on Friday by Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hamid Albar that he had submitted a letter on the CIQ issue to his Singapore counterpart Professor S. Jayakumar.

The Malaysian minister also said that Malaysia was willing to proceed with negotiations on the package.

Singapore had given Malaysia one month, from Jan 20, to submit its legal arguments to back its claim that it had a legal right to operate the CIQ facilities at Tanjong Pagar.

In a speech in parliament on the same day, Foreign Minister Jayakumar said that if the legal issue was not resolved, Singapore could not proceed on the package of bilateral issues to be negotiated as it would not be productive.

A question mark would hang over the CIQ issue and might continue to dog bilateral ties in future, he said.

Singapore also said then that if it did not receive any reply from Malaysia by the deadline on Feb 19, it would assume that Malaysia had dropped the legal claim to the right to operate its CIQ here.

Yesterday, the MFA spokesman confirmed that the Malaysians had made contact: "Datuk Seri Syed Hamid had replied to Prof Jayakumar before Feb 19, enclosing a paper for the purpose of clarifying certain issues concerning Malaysia's CIQ presence in Singapore."

The controversy over the siting of Malaysia's CIQ functions arose after Malaysia decided not to move its CIQ with Singapore's from the Tanjong Pagar station to the new Woodlands Train Checkpoint from August last year. It then claimed a legal right to continue carrying out CIQ functions at Tanjong Pagar.

It was given three months to forward its legal arguments for study by Singapore's Attorney-General. It asked for an extension to the deadline, which Singapore agreed to, but it failed to meet this deadline. It was then given its third deadline -- another month's notice from Jan 20.

The idea of settling issues as a package raised by Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was agreed to earlier by the Prime Ministers of the two countries when they met in Hanoi last December.

PM Goh Chok Tong had told Dr Mahathir that the question of legal right had to be settled first, before Singapore could start discussions on the package.

Published in the Straits Times. February 21, 1999