Let ties bloom

(Thanks to The Straits Times)
May 23, 2009
PM NAJIB'S VISIT - Let ties bloom, just like a beautiful orchid

At the official dinner hosted last night by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak charmed guests with a light-hearted speech that made an important point on the relationship between the two countries. Here is what he said:

MINISTERS, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I started my official visit to Singapore on a slightly more relaxed note, in that I was invited to visit the Botanical Garden.
I was impressed by the garden, but more so, I was given the honour, together with my wife, to officiate the naming of a new hybrid orchid, given the name of Dendrobium Najib Rosmah.

I thought to myself, this is a beautiful orchid. But more than the beauty of the orchid, it symbolises...that a relationship, if it is cultivated, if it is nurtured, can blossom into something beautiful, like that orchid.

And I thought, what an appropriate start to my official visit as the kid on the block, that we should start on a positive note. That the Malaysia-Singapore relationship is an important one - a relationship that should not be subjected to a kind of roller-coaster ride, which you're going to have at your two integrated resorts.

We've gone through that phase. I don't think we want to travel down that path again. We want to look forward, we want to look ahead, we want to see what we can do if we put our minds together.

If we take the attitude that as members of a new generation, that both Prime Minister Hsien Loong and I are young - or at least relatively young - we're not part of that generation, we should not be encumbered with the baggage of history.

We should be bold enough, imaginative enough, courageous enough to represent a new generation of Malaysians and Singaporeans who want this relationship to be a strong, productive and enduring one.

And I approach, on that basis, the discussions that we had today. We covered many grounds, very important issues. We want to use Iskandar as the showcase of our growing relationship. I'm certainly very confident that we can make it happen.

I mean the Wellness Centre is something that you and I, or Malaysians and Singaporeans, need - that kind of treatment - now and then. Certainly our ladies do. And men equally, because I think that men are getting more and more vain, sometimes more than women are.

I think we can sell it. We can develop that, as Prime Minister Hsien Loong puts it, let's find the iconic projects between our two sides. We can certainly take up your suggestion, to have a kind of a mixed development in Iskandar.

But the important thing is to send the signal. You're sending the signal, I'm sending the signal, that Singaporeans are welcome to Malaysia, welcome to participate in Iskandar's development.
On average, each Singaporean makes two visits to Malaysia. We can make it four visits to Malaysia - and beyond. There are many things that we can offer you and similarly, I wish to encourage Malaysians to visit Singapore as well. Our two economies need help. My wife has been doing her share this morning. I'm not sure what kind of damage she's done.

But rest assured, for things to happen, there must be a sense of confidence, trust and comfort.
And these things, we can work at. Prime Minister Hsien Loong's idea of us meeting on a regular basis, ministers meet their counterparts, visit each other, not necessarily in an official capacity. A game of golf - make sure that we win some and you win some. I know Jaya (Senior Minister S. Jayakumar) likes to win most of the time.

We can sit down over a plate of nasi kandar, like (Malaysia's Minister in the Prime Minister's Department) Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop's favourite nasi kandar. We can always end up with durian.

I know Singaporeans do like durian. I was surprised yesterday you managed to serve us durian at the golf club. It takes some doing.

This is the example of the more relaxed attitude between us.

And that, Prime Minister, is a good beginning of a new era in terms of Malaysia-Singapore bilateral relations.

And I hope we can build on it, just like the orchid plant. That orchid should be a symbol of the growing trust and confidence between our two countries.

Thank you very much for hosting me. The arrangements have been wonderful, outstanding. There was no traffic jam at all today. I wonder why.

So ladies and gentlemen, let me invite you to propose a toast to the good health and success of Prime Minister Hsien Loong and Mrs Lee and also to the future of Malaysia and Singapore relations.

Cheers.