Debated in Parliament on 19 Jan 2015.
Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he can provide an update on the results of the Environmental Impact Assessment conducted by Malaysia in
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respect of the land reclamation project in the Straits of Johor.
The Second Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Minister for Foreign Affairs) : Mdm Speaker, I believe the hon Member is referring to the Forest City reclamation project by Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd and the R&F Princess Cove reclamation project by R&F Development Sdn Bhd in the Straits of Johor. Singapore remains committed to working with Malaysia to address our concerns over Malaysia's reclamation projects in the Straits of Johor that could have potential transboundary impact on Singapore.
As you are aware, we had on several occasions conveyed to Malaysia our concerns and requests for more information, including the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports, on these reclamation projects. Singapore also recently held consultations with Malaysia on this matter at the 28th meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE) and 27th Malaysia-Singapore Annual Exchange of Visits (MSAEV) held in Malaysia from 24 to 25 November 2014.
Malaysia had responded with some general information on the reclamation projects and promised to share all other information, including the EIA reports, once its internal processes are completed. At the consultations, we exchanged views with Malaysia and sought further clarifications on these works. We also reiterated to Malaysia that both countries are obliged under general international law and, in particular, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to undertake and share EIA reports on all works that could have transboundary impact, prior to the commencement of such works.
Singapore was informed that Malaysia's internal processes regarding the EIAs have yet to be completed. We were also informed that Malaysia had ordered these reclamation works in Johor to be suspended. Malaysian Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato' Sri Dr James Dawos Mamit subsequently said it would take at least three more months for the finalised EIA reports to be ready. His comments were reported in the TODAY newspaper on 29 November 2014.
More recently, it was reported in the media that the reclamation projects have been approved by the Malaysian Department of Environment. However, Singapore has yet to receive the Malaysian government's official response on this issue, including the finalised EIA reports. We are seeking clarification from Malaysia and have reiterated our requests for Malaysia to provide the finalised EIA reports and all relevant information expeditiously, prior to the commencement of such works.
I thank the Second Minister for the reply but, apparently, the media from both sides of the Causeway has reported that Princess Cove's developer,
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Guangzhou R&F Properties have engaged a Malaysian-based environmental and hydraulic consultant Dr Nik & Associates to carry out a detailed environmental impact assessment, and it was reported that EIA had concluded that the reclamation will not be contributing too much negative impact to its environment.
I am not so sure if the Second Minister has clarified this report with the counterpart. In addition, it was also reported in the press that the outermost point of the reclaimed land of the Princess Cove project will only be 290 metres away from the Singapore border. Two hundred and ninety metres is a relatively short distance, less than six laps of an Olympics-sized swimming pool, so many average swimmers could easily swim that distance.
Hence, does such a close proximity between the Johor's reclaimed land and Singapore's borders pose a border security threat to Singapore?
Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for the supplementary question, but I believe that I have answered the question in my reply that we have not received the report and we are working with our Malaysian counterparts to obtain the report as soon as we can, and we will study the report seriously.
Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister whether the Singapore side will be doing our own independent environment impact study, looking at the whole project.
Yes, we will definitely be studying very carefully but there is information that is required of Malaysia, so we are working with our counterparts to get the necessary information before we can do a thorough study.
Mdm Speaker, as the Member of Parliament for Yew Tee division, we have quite a lot of biodiversity sitting within our division and this project would have a major impact on some of them. Therefore, my question to the Second Minister would be, if this project would go ahead unilaterally, is there anything that the Singapore Government can do to stop this project from proceeding without the conclusion of the EIA?
As I have mentioned in my reply, we would always work very closely with our Malaysian counterpart; there are prescribed international laws, including UNCLOS, that describe what countries should do when there are actions that have a transboundary effect on another. So, these are and have always been our modus operandi, that we would like to work according to international legal framework.
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But I think it is too premature to suggest our counterpart will do one way or another. I think at this point in time, we would just like to reiterate that we prefer to work closely with them, getting the report from them, getting the information from them and sharing our studies with them as well. As I had mentioned earlier, there have been several meetings, and I think our counterpart has been forthcoming, they have agreed to give us the report, so let us just go according to the plan.
Supplementary questions, Madam. I would like to ask the Second Minister: what is the internationally accepted protocol for such a reclamation project, and whether there is any agreement between Singapore and Malaysia with regard to such reclamation of land? I recall that Malaysia made a lot of noise when we did our reclamation. So, what was the agreement or understanding that we have forged with them?
Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member very much for the supplementary questions. There is agreed protocol and I think both countries are committed to work according to this protocol. The Malaysians have agreed to let us have the EIA report. So, we are waiting for that report.
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