Singapore will soon open new consulates in Malaysia’s East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Thursday (Dec 4). He made the announcement during a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is visiting Singapore for the 12th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat.
“I’m also very happy that Malaysia has formally agreed to Singapore’s proposal to open consulates in Sabah and Sarawak. This will allow Singapore to provide consular services to Singaporeans there, and deepen the already robust ties between our peoples,” Mr Wong said.
The plan was first discussed during the previous leaders’ retreat in Putrajaya in January 2025, which was the first meeting between Mr Wong and Mr Anwar as prime ministers. At that time, both countries issued a joint statement noting Singapore’s intention to open the new consulates, though approval had not been granted yet. Currently, Singapore maintains two diplomatic missions in Malaysia: a High Commission in Kuala Lumpur and a consulate in Johor Bahru, which opened in 2009.
Cooperation on Drugs
Both sides also exchanged two memorandums of understanding (MOUs). The first MOU focuses on cooperation to combat the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues, and precursor chemicals. Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Nasution, signed the agreement. It covers information sharing on trends and techniques in drug production, abuse, and trafficking, as well as training and joint exercises among relevant agencies.
Health Cooperation
The second MOU deals with health cooperation, signed by Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Hasan. Singapore Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, along with Malaysia’s Dzulkefly Ahmad, also signed the document. The agreement focuses on digital health, healthcare service delivery, health financing, public health, nutrition, long-term care, healthy ageing, and human resource development in health. Both countries plan to share information, conduct expert exchanges, organise joint training, and collaborate on research, policy development, and workshops.
