Singapore, Malaysia settles 2-decade long stalemate

With a revised land swap deal, Singapore and Malaysia settled a two-decade long dispute while setting in motion a vehicle to shape a shared future.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak accepted Singapore's offer of six land parcels in exchange for six parcels of Malayan Railway (KTM) land. This goes towards implementing the 1990 Points of Agreement (POA).

Under the agreement, a joint venture between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Temasek Holdings will handle the six Singapore land parcels for development when KTM relocates from the Tanjong Pagar railway station to the Woodlands train checkpoint by July next year.

In particular, the offer of four Marina South parcels, in the heart of the financial business cluster, caught observers' attention. "It's prime land ... and you can't go wrong with that," said property analyst Donald Han, managing director at Cushman and Wakefield Asia Pacific.

Mr Yang Razali Kassim, senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said, "It's a creative strategy which forces both sides to work together and have a stake in each other's future development and prosperity."

The details of the land swap

- Singapore to vest six land parcels (four in Marina South, two in Ophir-Rochor) in M-S Pte Ltd, a 60-40 joint venture between Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Temasek Holdings, in exchange for three parcels of Malayan Railway land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands and three in Bukit Timah.

- By July 1, Malaysia will vacate Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and move its railway Custom, Immigration and Quarantine facilities to Woodlands Train Checkpoint.

- Differences over development charges payable on three parcels of Malayan Railway land to be referred to Permanent Court of Arbitration, but shall not affect implementation of the Points of Agreement and other bilateral initiatives agreed in May.

- Joint Implementation Team to conclude by Dec 31 discussions on the implementation details. MORE