Toast Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the State Banquet in Honour of 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 Royal Highness Tengku Puteri Afzan,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My husband and I are honoured to welcome Your Majesties to Singapore. Your Majesties’ visit has been a long time coming and was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently because of the State Funeral of the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I was glad that we made time and had a good discussion at the sidelines in London, and I am very happy that we can now welcome Your Majesties to Singapore.

This may be Your Majesties’ first State Visit to Singapore, but we are certainly not strangers. I heard that Your Majesties have a special and personal connection to Singapore, particularly through the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in NUS. I understand that NUS houses many happy memories for Your Majesties, including of your early courtship days. Your Majesties’ son, the Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Shah, has continued this legacy, and we were delighted to welcome him in September for his course at the NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Closer to the hearts – and stomachs! – of those in this room: I also heard that Your Majesties are fans of our Zam Zam murtabak and goreng pisang. I trust that Your Majesties have had your fill of murtabak last night, but if not, Zam Zam is not too far away!

These stories of personal ties are the foundation of Singapore and Malaysia’s longstanding multi-faceted relations.  Your Majesty’s State Visit caps a busy and fruitful year of high-level exchanges between Singapore and Malaysia.It reaffirms the close relationship between our two countries, which have been linked by bonds of kinship through the generations. There are strong people-to-people ties at all levels. Our leaders, officials, businesses, and youths are familiar with each other. While we may have differing views from time to time, we have continued to work through these issues and not let them affect the overall bilateral relationship.

In fact, bilateral cooperation between our countries has grown from strength to strength. We have always worked closely together in areas such as trade, investment, and tourism. We remain each other’s second largest trading partner. COVID-19 was the test of our generation. Despite the unprecedented challenges, we worked together tirelessly to ensure the safe movement of goods, services, and people across the border. We were all relieved when the borders fully re-opened on 1st April, and families and loved ones could reunite once again.

Since then, peak daily traveller volume across both land checkpoints, and weekly flight services between Singapore and Malaysia have been approaching pre-pandemic numbers. Singaporeans and Malaysians alike have been traveling across the border to revisit old haunts and discover new spots. Our officials and leaders have resumed work, study and official visits, and are eagerly exchanging ideas and working on new initiatives with each other. Both sides have lost no time at all to forge collaboration in multiple areas.

For one, we are working to boost exchanges and mutual trust amongst our next generation. In May, the Singapore Management University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Malaysia’s Universiti Teknologi Petronas to boost exchanges between staff and students, to exchange best practices, and encourage collaborative research or internship opportunities.

In August, our Trade Ministries concluded two separate Frameworks of Cooperation on digital economy and on the green economy. There has been good progress on the two Framework Agreements, and I look forward to the signing of both Agreements at the earliest opportunity. These were key priorities for Singapore’s chairmanship of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) this year, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Malaysia for its steadfast support during our chairmanship. Malaysia has been an active contributor in the Senior Officials’ Meetings, and contributed towards developing a process for other economies aspiring to join the CPTPP. I also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Malaysia on its ratification of the CPTPP, which like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), are two of the largest FTAs anchored in our region.

Your Majesties,

Although the worst of the pandemic appears to be over, we are still living in challenging times. The external environment has become increasingly complex and challenging with greater contestation, big power rivalry, and the on-going war in Ukraine. Malaysia is also preparing for its next General Election. Through Your Majesty’s term as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Your Majesty has stood firm as a pillar of stability and reassurance to the rakyat, and as a crucial symbol of unity for Malaysia. In the face of a complicated geopolitical landscape, it behoves us to continue to strengthen trust and understanding between our two countries, and to work together for mutual benefit for our people.

Just as your father, the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, was a staunch supporter of Singapore-Malaysia ties, I am confident that Your Majesty’s leadership and support will also bring Singapore and Malaysia’s relationship to greater heights.

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is now my great 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; and

To the enduring and warm friendship between the governments and peoples of Malaysia and Singapore.

I hope that this visit will add another fond memory of Singapore for Their Majesties.