KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Malaysia and Singapore are ready to strengthen their bilateral strategic cooperation, including in urban redevelopment, said Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming.
This was decided with Singapore’s Minister for National Development, Desmond Lee Ti-Seng, during his courtesy visit yesterday.
In a Facebook post, the minister said Lee expressed Singapore’s confidence in Malaysia’s efforts to drive this country’s urban planning and redevelopment initiatives actively.
“In this regard, Lee and his delegation expressed Singapore’s intention to strengthen bilateral strategic cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the near future,” said Nga, who also posted pictures of the meeting.
The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has identified 139 dilapidated and outdated sites in the city which require redevelopment efforts.
He added that urban planning and redevelopment will further boost the local economy by creating new job opportunities and contributing to high economic value.
Aside from discussing urban planning and redevelopment, the two-hour meeting covered topics like housing, firefighting, and civil defence matters.
Nga said Singapore also agreed to conduct joint exercises with the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department at the Civil Defence Academy in Singapore in the future.
These proposals will be thoroughly examined during the Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat scheduled for October 30 in the republic.
Lee is on a four-day visit to Malaysia, which started on October 8.
— Bernama
