By BERNAMA / Pic By BERNAMA

SINGAPORE is looking forward to resuming talks with the new government in Malaysia on the delayed Singapore-Kuala Lumpur (KL) high-speed rail (HSR) and Johor Baru Rapid Transit System (RTS) projects in the coming months, TODAY reported.

Quoting the republic’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan during a debate on his ministry’s budget in Parliament yesterday, the news portal said Singapore is anticipating the formation of the new Malaysian Cabinet and resumption of bilateral talks soon.

“We know many of the personalities in (the new prime minister’s Perikatan Nasional) coalition well, from our engagements over the decades, and we wish them all the best. We are confident we will continue to have a constructive, mutually beneficial relationship with Malaysia, and look forward to resuming discussions on ongoing issues and projects,” he was quoted as saying.

The report said Balakrishnan was responding to two speeches by associate Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, MP for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh on Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia.

Muhammad Faishal, who is also senior parliamentary secretary for education, social and family development, reportedly said the political situation in Malaysia has evolved rapidly in recent days which “will inevitably affect Singapore in many ways”.

Asking for an update on the HSR and RTS projects, he said as the projects would bring mutual benefit to the people of both countries, they “cannot be suspended indefinitely”.

“At some point, we must decide whether to proceed or not. We look forward to hearing from Malaysia on these two projects in the coming months,” he said.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as the eighth prime minister before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Singapore State for Foreign Affairs Senior Minister Dr Maliki Osman was reportedly said there were more than 50 ministerial- level visits and exchanges between Malaysia and Singapore last year alone.

“These exchanges allowed us to discuss a wide range of issues, including connectivity projects like the Singapore-Johor Baru RTS Link and Singapore-KL HSR. I hope that we will be able to continue making progress on these mutually beneficial projects,” he was quoted as saying. — Bernama