Re: Dr M 'wrong on sand and airspace issues'
- From: "news.tm.net.my" <rkumar@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:20:50 +0800
Again the mouth pieces are responding. Do what is necessary and move on with
life!!!
"pluto" <pluto@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:22e9a2t3urrp5jkno43il2fv0u8n747a4f@xxxxxxxxxx
Friday June 30, 2006
Dr M 'wrong on sand and airspace issues'
TUN Dr Mahathir Mohamad got it wrong when he said Malaysia offered to sell
sand to
Singapore and to allow the republic to use Malaysian airspace, said
Foreign Minister
Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.
"It was Singapore, and not Malaysia, which first asked to re-allow the
sale of sand
and the use of Malaysian airspace," he said in a written reply to Lim Kit
Siang (DAP
- Ipoh Timur), Salahuddin Ayub (PAS - Kubang Kerian) and Abdul Fatah Harun
(PAS -
Rantau Panjang).
"Both issues came about as political quid pro quo based on mutual interest
for
Singapore to agree to the new bridge to replace the Johor Causeway."
He said the air space issue had been discussed during negotiations between
1998 and
2002.
"Tun (Dr Mahathir) was the one who offered it as one of the issues for
trade-off
during the package negotiations," he said.
He said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, during a meeting with Prime
Minister Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on March 1 last year, repeated Singapore's
request to use
Malaysian air space and the sand issue.
On sand, Syed Hamid said the Government had considered Singapore's request
after
taking into account that Malaysia had sold sand to Singapore for a long
time under Dr
Mahathir's administration.
"Sand is still being sold to Singapore even now, but that is silica sand.
However,
compared to sand sold during Tun's time, we have now imposed stricter
conditions," he
said.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/6/30/parliament/14704228&sec=parliament
======================================================
Sand and air space negotiations started under DrM
B. Suresh Ram
KUALA LUMPUR: Negotiations on air space and sand with Singapore took place
even
during the administration of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and was done at the
request of
Singapore, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Syed Albar told
Parliament today
(June 29, 2006).
He said this in a written reply to questions from several MPs who had
asked why
Malaysia took the initiative to offer sand and airspace. Mahathir also had
attacked
the government for offering sand and airspace.
"Statements by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysia was the one who first
offered to
sell sand and to allow Singapore to use our airspace are baseless and not
true at
all," Syed Hamid said.
He addded: "Tun (Mahathir ) himself had put (memasukkan) this matter (sand
and
airspace) as one of the trade-off issues during their meetings on the
packaged deals
involving both countries."
"It was Singapore and not Malaysia which broached the subject of allowing
the sale of
sand again and the use of Malaysia's air space," he said.
"Both issues were raised as a means of political quid pro quo based on the
principle
of mutual interests in getting Singapore to agree to the construction of a
new
(straight) bridge to replace the Johor causeway."
Syed Hamid said the air space issue was nothing new but had in fact been
discussed by
both countries in their bilateral meetings in the form of a package deal
between 1998
and 2002.
And on March 1, 2005, during a meeting between Singapore's Senior Minister
Goh Chok
Tong and Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Putrajaya to discuss
outstanding issues,
Goh repeated the republic's request that Malaysia allow the use of
Malaysia's air
space by the republic's Air Force.
Syed Hamid said that during the subsequent senior officials meeting of
both countries
between September 2005 and March of this year, only two of the five
special requests
sought by Singapore were considered by Malaysia after obtaining the green
light from
the Malaysian Defence Ministry.
The two privileges were the request for Search and Rescue and the Northern
Transit
Corridor, he said.
"Even then, the right of Search and Rescue offer was offered based on the
principle
of reciprocity and is in line with international practises.
"The Northern Transit Corridor was mainly to be used as a transit point to
the South
China Sea and that the Singapore Air Force would not hover in Malaysian
airspace,"
Syed Hamid explained.
He added that conditions were also imposed by the Malaysian Defence
Ministry on the
use of the Northern Transit Corridor to ensure Malaysia's interests were
preserved.
On the sand issue, Syed Hamid said the government had given due
consideration to the
requests of Singapore, after taking into the fact that Malaysia had for a
long time
in the past sold sand to Singapore under the administration of Mahathir.
"Sand is still being sold to Singapore at the moment, but only restricted
to the sale
of Silica sand," he said.
Syed Hamid said compared to the sale of sand done under the administration
of
Mahathir, Malaysia had imposed stricter sale conditions during their
bilateral
meetings.
"These conditions were in regards to the aspects of sand quality,
location, royalty
payment, license issuance, Federal and state government procedures,
regulations on
sand mining, related terms and conditions, as well as effective
enforcement to
preserve the country's interests," Syed Hamid said.
He added that despite this, the government in the end took into account
the
sentiments of the people not to proceed with the bridge project.
"This meant Malaysia did not have to consider giving airspace and selling
sand as was
requested by Singapore," he said.
Updated: 08:01PM Thu, 29 Jun 2006
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-pluto
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