The father’s not the son - Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew sounds a warning on Iskandar
BY JENNIFER GOMEZ
August 07, 2013
Latest Update: August 07, 2013 04:18 pm
While the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong has thrown his weight behind Malaysia’s economic powerhouse in the south, the Iskandar project in Johor, his influential father has once again thrown cold water on it.
In his book "One Man's View Of The World" (pic) launched yesterday, elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew, said, “Let’s wait and see how Iskandar develops. This is an economic field of cooperation in which, you must remember, we are putting investments on Malaysian soil.
“And at the stroke of a pen, they can take it over. They are not likely to because they want more investments.”
The elder Lee, who was the first prime minister of Singapore, still holds memories of broken promises between the two countries, which are deeply linked by history and economic ties, but have had rocky relations over the past half-century.
He said, “When we go there, we must understand that any real estate or building that you plant on the ground belongs to the owner of the ground."
This is not the first time he has raised concerns over Iskandar, despite his own government leading Singapore to be one of the major investors there.
Even four years ago, on his last visit to Malaysia, the elder Lee said Iskandar would be unattractive to private investors as long as there was no long-term stability in Malaysian policy.
He said about his talks to Malaysian authorities then: “I had to emphasise that it cannot be cooperation today and non-cooperation next year and then backwards and forwards, because these are very big investments both in the Iskandar region and the third bridge to Desaru in the East Coast – from Desaru up to Mersing until Kuantan and Pekan.
“It does not make sense to us if at the same time they punish us by making us barge sand from Vietnam. It’s no benefit to them, it’s just to cause us extra losses. The final balance must be fair on both sides and not just specific selective areas.”
Early last year, Hsien Loong was quoted to have said that it was in Singapore's interests to see Iskandar prosper and succeed when he had met counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya.
In 2009, the global financial crisis had prompted Dubai developer Damac Properties to pull out of a waterfront and marina project valued at over RM300 million in Nusajaya which forms part of Iskandar Malaysia.
But even back then, Singapore was listed as the third largest investor in Iskandar Malaysia, boosted by low-profile Singaporean small and medium enterprises (SMEs).- August 7, 2013.
BY JENNIFER GOMEZ
August 07, 2013
Latest Update: August 07, 2013 04:18 pm
While the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong has thrown his weight behind Malaysia’s economic powerhouse in the south, the Iskandar project in Johor, his influential father has once again thrown cold water on it.
In his book "One Man's View Of The World" (pic) launched yesterday, elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew, said, “Let’s wait and see how Iskandar develops. This is an economic field of cooperation in which, you must remember, we are putting investments on Malaysian soil.
“And at the stroke of a pen, they can take it over. They are not likely to because they want more investments.”
The elder Lee, who was the first prime minister of Singapore, still holds memories of broken promises between the two countries, which are deeply linked by history and economic ties, but have had rocky relations over the past half-century.
He said, “When we go there, we must understand that any real estate or building that you plant on the ground belongs to the owner of the ground."
This is not the first time he has raised concerns over Iskandar, despite his own government leading Singapore to be one of the major investors there.
Even four years ago, on his last visit to Malaysia, the elder Lee said Iskandar would be unattractive to private investors as long as there was no long-term stability in Malaysian policy.
He said about his talks to Malaysian authorities then: “I had to emphasise that it cannot be cooperation today and non-cooperation next year and then backwards and forwards, because these are very big investments both in the Iskandar region and the third bridge to Desaru in the East Coast – from Desaru up to Mersing until Kuantan and Pekan.
“It does not make sense to us if at the same time they punish us by making us barge sand from Vietnam. It’s no benefit to them, it’s just to cause us extra losses. The final balance must be fair on both sides and not just specific selective areas.”
Early last year, Hsien Loong was quoted to have said that it was in Singapore's interests to see Iskandar prosper and succeed when he had met counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya.
In 2009, the global financial crisis had prompted Dubai developer Damac Properties to pull out of a waterfront and marina project valued at over RM300 million in Nusajaya which forms part of Iskandar Malaysia.
But even back then, Singapore was listed as the third largest investor in Iskandar Malaysia, boosted by low-profile Singaporean small and medium enterprises (SMEs).- August 7, 2013.
