Malaysia-Singapore Land Swap

Final rail land swap focus of Najib-Hsien Loong meet

UPDATED @ 07:14:08 AM 16-09-2010

September 16, 2010

Najib and Lee (right) are scheduled to iron out the details in the land swap on Monday. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — Finalising the valuation and swap of land parcels will be the focus of both the Malaysian and Singaporean prime ministers when they meet in the island republic this weekend, some 47 years after both formed Malaysia only to bitterly split two years later.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Malaysian officials have agreed to a realistic value of the land being exchanged for the leased Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) land after their Singaporean counterparts said higher land values will incur heavier development charges in the city-state.

It is also learnt that officials from both countries are also finalising the joint venture M-S Pte Ltd which has to be established no later than December 31, with Malaysia’s 60 per cent held by Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Singapore’s 40 per cent held by Temasek Holdings Limited.

The officials have also agreed that Malaysia’s KTM would move out of the historic Tanjong Pagar station and relocate to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint (WTCP) by next July 1 to fulfil conditions under the Points of Agreement (POA) signed in 1990.

“It has been tough work trying to flesh out details of the POA which is skimpy,” a Malaysian official told The Malaysian Insider.

He confirmed that any delay on Malaysia’s part will see the KTM land revert back to Singapore under the POA without compensation or a land swap.

“We have to move fast as time is essential,” the official added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is expected to finalise the details with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong in a private meeting between the two at Singapore’s Istana when they meet on Monday.

This is the third round of talks between the two leaders since May when they announced that a solution has been found to ensure the POA are implemented.

When both leaders last met in Putrajaya in July, they had agreed to meet again after Hari Raya Aidilfitri to settle the land swap due to a difference of opinion on the land valuation and the tenure of the land holding.

“There was a hitch over the land valuation but it looks like it has been resolved,” diplomatic sources told The Malaysian Insider.

Both Najib and Lee first announced their agreement on the 20-year issue on May 24 when they disclosed that the rail land swap would see the joint-venture M-S Pte Ltd given three parcels of land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands, and an additional three parcels of land in Bukit Timah (Lot 76-2 Mk 16, Lot 249 Mk 4 and Lot 32-10 Mk 16) for the joint development of the said parcels.

The parcels can be swapped for land of similar value in the Marina South or Ophir-Rochor areas in Singapore and would take effect when KTM vacates the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

Future railway links between the two neighbours would include a rapid transit system link between Tanjung Puteri, Johor Baru and Singapore. The rapid transit system link will be integrated with public transport services in both Johor Baru and Singapore.

The rapid transit system link would have an integrated Malaysian and Singaporean customs, immigration and quarantine facility located in Singapore, which will be operational by 2018 although the exact location has yet to be determined.

Both leaders also agreed that Malaysia might consider relocating the KTM station from Woodlands to Johor when the rapid transit system link is completed.