Malaysia-Singapore bilateral ties unaffected by absence of high commissioner - Hishammuddin

KUALA LUMPUR: The bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Singapore has been progressing smoothly and is unaffected by the absence of Malaysia's High Commissioner to the republic.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said Malaysia is in the process of appointing a new High Commissioner to Singapore following the retirement of Datuk Zainol Rahim Zainuddin in April.

"The process of appointing a High Commissioner or an ambassador involves a lot of vetting, not only on the part of Malaysia but also on the part of the host country.

"So this process, as far as Singapore is concerned, is ongoing. The most important thing, with or without the High Commissioner, our job gets done," he told reporters after attending a series of meetings here today with regard to the ASEAN Summit.

"As you can see, our green lane development and movement of people between Malaysia and Singapore are not affected... whether we have a High Commissioner or not. So it is not an issue," he said.

He added the movement of nationals across the Causeway, opening up of borders and looking at travel bubbles for tourism had been going on, with or without the High Commissioner.

Hishammuddin was commenting on Johor state Works, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Mohd Solihan Badri's call today for the position to be filled as soon as possible so as to better facilitate issues involving Malaysians in the republic.

Earlier, Hishammuddin attended three related meetings, namely ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, 22nd ASEAN Political-Security Community Council Meeting and the 28th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting.

Among the issues discussed included those related to the South China Sea, developments in the Rakhine province in Myanmar, the Palestinian issue, non-traditional threats and efforts to address the new world landscape post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will lead the Malaysian delegation attending the 37th ASEAN Summit virtually from the capital from Thursday to Sunday.

This year's conference, hosted by Vietnam, has to be held virtually due to the pandemic.

-- BERNAMA