Malaysian vote will not affect ties : Singapore FM
Malaysiakini.com
Mar 10, 2008

The election setback suffered by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling coalition is not likely to affect ties with Singapore, the city-state's foreign minister said today. MCPX

The BN coalition was mauled in Saturday's election, losing its crucial two-thirds majority in parliament and conceding four states to the resurgent opposition, which now controls five of Malaysia's 13 states.

"What BN has been able to achieve is still a solid majority ... I don't think it will affect political stability there and it should not affect bilateral relations," Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said in remarks broadcast by radio station 938 Live.

"Our bilateral relations are very good and getting better and I see no reason why it should not get better after the elections," he said.

Yeo said he expected the neighbours to continue working together in areas of common interest such as the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) business hub project in Malaysia's southern Johor state bordering Singapore.

Congratulatory message 

Meanwhile, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written Abdullah to congratulate him on the results, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written to congratulate Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on the Barisan Nasional's election victory and formation of a new government," the statement said.

"In his letter, Prime Minister Lee also reaffirmed Singapore's commitment to working with Prime Minister Abdullah to deepen the good bilateral relationship as well as for regional stability and prosperity."

Bilateral ties have often been stormy since Singapore was ejected from the Malaysian Federation in 1965 over ethnic issues, but they have undergone a marked improvement since Abdullah became prime minister in 2003.

The embattled Malaysian leader was sworn in Monday for a second term as prime minister, having earlier rejected calls to quit after presiding over the ruling coalition's worst ever election results.

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