M'SIA-S'PORE TO SETTLE KTM LAND DEVELOPMENT CHARGES IN ARBITRATION COURT

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Sept 20 (Bernama) - Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to bring
the outstanding issue on the development charges payable on Keretapi Tanah
Melayu Berhad (KTMB) land in the city-state that will be jointly developed by
both countries, to the international court for arbitration.

According to a joint statement issued after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib
Razak met his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana (Palace)
here Monday, both leaders agreed to settle the issue amicably through
arbitration under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The statement said both countries had different views relating to the
charges payable on the three parcels of Points of Agreement (POA) land in
Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands in Singapore.

The three parcels of land are expected to be developed by a 60-40
joint-venture company, M-S Pte Ltd, to be set up between Malaysia's Khazanah
Nasional Berhad and Singapore's Temasek Holdings Ltd.

Najib and Lee had further agreed to accept the arbitration award as final
and binding.

It is understood that the development charges, which applied to any business
which wants to develop any land in Singapore, will be significant if the three
parcels of land are going to be developed.

The contention now is that based on the POA entered into, by both countries
in 1990, the clause on who should pay the development charges was not clear
enough.

Singapore interpreted that the company should pay for the development
charges but Malaysia said there should be no cost at all.

However, Najib and Lee agreed that the arbitration would proceed on its own
track, and should not affect the implementation of the POA and the other
bilateral initiatives agreed upon, in their first meeting here on May 24, this
year.

In that meeting, Malaysia agreed to move the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad
(KTMB) Tanjong Pagar station to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint by July 1, next
year, and the three parcels of land would be vested in M-S Pte Ltd for joint
development and swapped with several pieces of land in Marina South and
Ophir-Rochor.

Speaking at a joint press conference later with Lee, Najib said the issue
was not a major problem but it was important for they wanted an agreement (POA)
that would survive the test of time.

Najib said they wanted to make it a legally and politically correct
agreement that would be accepted by both peoples of Malaysia and Singapore and
their future generations.

Najib said: "This agreement signifies the final chapter in the long-standing
arrangement which started 20 years ago.

"We both are delighted and as well as relieved in a sense that we can put
this behind us and move forward."

The prime minister pointed out that Singapore and Lee had shown deep
commitment in addressing the POA which was of mutual benefit to both sides,
resulting in the old version of the POA further enhanced.

On June 22, this year, in follow-up talks with Najib in Putrajaya, Malaysia
Lee conveyed Singapore's offer on the land swap.

Following that meeting, Lee sent a revised land swap offer to Najib on
June 28.

Najib accepted the offer on Sept 17, and Lee replied two days later,
confirming his agreement in which the Singapore Government should vest four land
parcels in Marina South and two land parcels in Ophir-Rochor in M-S Pte Ltd, in
lieu of the POA lands.

Both leaders said the discussion on the details of the implementation of the
POA by the Joint Implementation Team would be concluded by this Dec 31.

They also reiterated their commitment to the matters set out in the May 24
meeting, including the 50-50 joint-venture company between Khazanah and Temasek
to undertake the development of the iconic wellness township project in Iskandar
Malaysia and the joint development of a rapid transit system link between Johor
Baharu, in Johor, Malaysia and Singapore.
-- BERNAMA


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