Make Johor trips easier for Singaporeans: Malaysian Envoy

The Straits Times, April 2, 2007
By Leslie Lau, MALAYSIA CORRESPONDENT


Crime and red tape should also be addressed, says KL's envoy to S'pore

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA needs to make it easier for Singaporeans and other foreigners to go in and out of the country, said its High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk N. Parameswaran.

He said that Malaysia would also have to address concerns about crime and red tape to attract Singapore investments for its ambitious makeover of South Johor, the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

'I think before we talk about marketing the IDR, we must create conditions on the Malaysian side that make the project an attractive one for Singaporeans,' he said in an interview published in The Star newspaper here yesterday.

A suggestion put forward by Datuk Parameswaran to his own government in the interview was for the introduction of a travel card for frequent travellers from the Republic to Johor.

Such a card, which he compared to Malaysia's Touch 'N' Go pre-paid road toll card, should be made available to Singaporeans who live and work in the IDR.

Currently, he said, regular Malaysian commuters could apply for a travel card from the Singapore authorities allowing them to enter the Republic without having their passports stamped.

Another major concern of Singaporeans mentioned in the interview was the issue of Johor's high crime rate.

'We, being a country larger than Singapore, will certainly have more crime, but I have always been assuring Singaporeans that Malaysia is really doing something, especially in Johor,' said the Malaysian envoy.

He also urged Malaysian enforcement officials not to be too strict with Singaporeans.

He cited as examples a recent case of the Malaysian Road Transport Department's (RTD) recent operations against Singapore vehicles with red number plates and the jailing of a Singaporean because of his vehicle's tinted windows.

'We should not give Singaporeans the impression that we are waiting to catch them as soon as they cross the border,' said Datuk Parameswaran.

Once such concerns are addressed properly, he said, the Malaysian government should embark on a major drive for investments from Singapore.

Bilateral ties, Datuk Parameswaran said, were now conducive enough to encourage more economic activities between the two countries.

'Perhaps we should be guided by the remarks of Foreign Minister George Yeo in Parliament recently, when he said we should work together in the IDR on the basis of mutual respect and benefit,' he said.

But he said that red tape remained a major stumbling block to increasing investments.

'I often hear complaints that when people do business in Malaysia, they have to go through many processes,' he said. Singaporeans, he added, would go to countries where the delivery system is fast.

In recent years, Singapore's investments in Malaysia have begun to fall as the Republic looks at other countries and regions such China, India and the Middle East as locations to do business.

Last year, Singapore - which had been Johor's top investor previously - fell behind Lebanon and the Netherlands in the list of the state's major investors in the second half of the year.

Datuk Parameswaran remarked that one Singapore businessman who was until recently a Member of Parliament told him that 'we are prepared to wait for you for a few months, but if you make us wait and wait, we will take our money somewhere else'.