Abdullah allays fears of meddling

The Straits Times, May 26, 2007


TOKYO - MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has brushed aside fears expressed by some quarters of Singapore meddling in the development of the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

He said the fears arose after Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong inadvertently used the word 'consultative committee' in Langkawi last week at their leaders' retreat. There, Mr Lee and Datuk Seri Abdullah had agreed to set up a joint ministerial committee to discuss areas of cooperation in travel and tourism.

Datuk Seri Abdullah told reporters on Thursday that after the announcement, the people of Johor were worried Singapore's presence on the committee meant that decisions on the IDR would have to be referred to the Republic for approval.

As he put it: 'But that is not correct. That will never happen.'

He said Mr Lee's use of the word 'consultative' 'was a mistake, a slip of the tongue'.

On Tuesday, Singapore made it clear that the committee would not be involved in the running of the IDR. As a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman put it: 'To avoid any misapprehension, Singapore will let Malaysia take the lead on the committee.'

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK