“Good progress” is being made on the JB-Singapore RTS Link project, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Fri though the Malaysian government needs “further time to restructure or review some details”. “(The Malaysian government has) indicated they still need further time to restructure or review some details of the plan, but I’m still hopeful that we will go forward.” He also commented on another project that has been delayed, the KL-Singapore HSR. “On HSR, they have until May next year to make up their minds. We will wait for them,” he said. “It’s worth remembering,” the minister pointed out, “that both RTS and HSR were in fact ideas that originated from the previous Malaysian government. “So should we have been surprised that the new government… needed time to review these projects? No, I’m not at all surprised.” Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia “will always be complex” and the two countries’ “futures are intertwined”. “Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed. We’ve got good and strong relations, and ability to communicate at a very senior leadership level,” he said.... Continue Reading