Singapore and Malaysia must commit to resolving the many "disturbing" issues between them, Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in remarks published yesterday ahead of a visit there.

"For neighbours, we have too many disturbing issues," Abdullah told the Sunday Times in Singapore ahead of his official visit today, his first to the city-state since taking over the job from Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Oct 31.

"If it cannot be managed properly, it potentially can create tension," he said.

"I am going to Singapore with the objective of finding out what PM Goh (Chok Tong) has in mind about solving the issues and how it can be done," Abdullah said.

"First we have to agree that we want to settle the issues," he said.

The neighbours have had a testy relationship since Singapore left the Malaysian federation in 1965 and became an independent nation.

Thorny issues between them include the price of water that Malaysia supplies to Singapore, a prospective bridge linking the countries, the use of Malaysian air space by Singaporean military aircraft and the ownership of a rocky islet.

They are also locked in a legal battle over land reclamation works being carried out by Singapore in waters between their borders, with the matter before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Warmer ties

Abdullah was confident the two sides could resolve the disputes.

"We must be guided by the sincere wish to resolve all the issues," Abdullah said. "It may take time but we require patience."

"We go for arbitration only when we cannot resolve matters through discussion. And once we go for arbitration, we will abide by the decision reached. So none of the issues are intractable," he said.

Abdullah is due in Singapore on Monday for a one-day visit as part of a tour of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries traditionally undertaken by newly installed regional leaders.

Hopes of warmer ties between the neighbours increased after Abdullah met Goh on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Tokyo late last year. It was the first time the two leaders had met since Abdullah became prime minister.

Last week Singapore Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar called for both sides to end their acrimonious relationship, stressing warmer ties would be of mutual benefit. - AFP