Toast Speech by President Halimah Yacob at State Banquet Hosted by His Majesty Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'Ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, The Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia

Your Majesty, the Yang-di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’Ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, 

Your Majesty, the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, 

Your Excellency Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia,

Your Excellency Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia,
 
Excellencies, 

Distinguished Guests, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,  

I thank Your Majesties for the warm hospitality extended to me, my husband, and my delegation. I am delighted to make my first State Visit to Malaysia. My husband and I were equally happy to have been able to host Your Majesties when you made a State Visit to Singapore last October. These visits, as well as those of our political leaders and senior officials, along with the hundreds of thousands of crossings that take place daily across our borders, reflect the closeness and vitality of our relations.

As Your Majesty said during the State Banquet in Singapore, the need for Singapore and Malaysia to work closely together amid the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape is more important than ever. In the 58 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Malaysia, our bilateral ties have grown from strength to strength. Today, our two countries enjoy substantive and mutually beneficial cooperation spanning the economic, security, and people-to-people spheres.

Over the past three years, Singapore and Malaysia have stood shoulder-to-shoulder to tackle COVID-19, a once-in-a-generation test. I am happy to note that next month marks the first anniversary of the reopening of our borders since the pandemic. Both air and land traffic between our two countries have been steadily returning to pre-pandemic levels. I am heartened that since our borders fully reopened to each other in April 2022, there has been slightly more than one million Singaporeans who travel to Malaysia each month just via our land checkpoints. When the much-awaited Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link (RTS) is completed by 2026, connectivity between two already close neighbours will be further strengthened.

There is much scope for us to expand our cooperation into new and exciting areas for mutual benefit. During Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Singapore in January, both sides signed three MOUs to boost cooperation in cybersecurity and the digital and green economies. As our businesses and peoples increasingly go online, we need future-ready frameworks in place to promote digital wellness, secure our cyber infrastructure, and close the digital divide. As our economies transition to be powered by more renewable and low-carbon sources of energy, we need sensible rules which both protect our environment and promote sustainable growth as well as technological innovation.

These MOUs would help our businesses and entrepreneurs thrive in the future economy and create good jobs for our peoples. When I met a group of Singaporean and Malaysian business leaders yesterday, there was a palpable sense that our companies are looking forward to seizing the many opportunities to expand their businesses on both sides of the Causeway, from telecommunications to infrastructure, from e-commerce to climate solutions.

Beyond economics, what truly defines our unique relationship is our shared history and ties of kinship. Many of us have family and friends in both Singapore and Malaysia, and many more have fond memories of spending time in each other’s countries – be it studying, working, or vacationing. Indeed, Your Majesties have many personal connections to Singapore. For those who are unaware, His Majesty had clinched a gold medal for Malaysia in polo in the 1983 Southeast Asian Games held in Singapore!

Looking ahead, we must ensure that younger Singaporeans and Malaysians continue to grow up familiar and comfortable with one another. We have vibrant bilateral education partnerships. This includes the MOU which had been renewed for another five years last October between the Malay language departments of the Singapore University of Social Sciences and Universiti Sains Malaysia. Another MOU was signed last month between ITE Education Services and the Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak to promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training.

As we know, our external environment is becoming increasingly volatile and challenging. Major power rivalries are sharpening, and the global economic outlook remains uncertain due to the war in Ukraine and the long aftershocks of COVID-19. As founding members of ASEAN and likeminded partners, Singapore and Malaysia must help keep our region united and credible. Without a stable external environment, all of us in ASEAN will find it harder to transform our economies and improve the lives of our peoples. I am confident that Singapore and Malaysia can work together to advance both our national as well as ASEAN’s interests.

Your Majesties,

Singapore and Malaysia share an intertwined destiny. What Singapore and Malaysia can achieve together is only limited by our imagination and political will. As it has been said, “air dicencang tidak akan putus” – Singapore and Malaysia will stick together through thick and thin, for the progress and prosperity of our peoples. On a more personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Your Majesties for the friendship you have shown to me, my husband, as well as Singapore over the years. Thank you for your unwavering support for Singapore-Malaysia relations!

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is now my pleasure to invite you to join me in a toast:

To the good health and happiness of Their Majesties, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong;

The peace, progress, and prosperity of Malaysia; and

The close and enduring friendship between Singapore and Malaysia.

Thank you.