Singapore manages the Pulau Pisang structure under an 1885 agreement
Carolyn Hong, Straits Times 11 Jun 08;
PUTRAJAYA - MALAYSIA is keen to take over the management of the lighthouse on Pulau Pisang from Singapore as the island belongs to Malaysia, says Foreign Minister Rais Yatim.
'If Singapore is amenable, we will suggest that it gives up the lighthouse as the island belongs to Malaysia. There is no point in Singapore managing the lighthouse.
'I will discuss with Mr George Yeo,' he told The Straits Times yesterday, referring to his Singapore counterpart.
He said the island, off the coast of Johor, was viable for development for tourism and fishing amenities.
The federal government, he said, was keen for Johor to take up the initiative as soon as possible, with some funding from federal agencies.
For instance, he said the Rural Development Ministry could help build shelters for fishermen and other amenities.
Under Malaysian law, islands and land issues are under the jurisdiction of state governments.
The lighthouse on Pulau Pisang is managed by Singapore under an agreement in 1885 between the ruler of Johor and the governor of the Straits Settlements.
The 154ha island has come under the spotlight following a decision by the International Court of Justice that Pedra Branca belongs to the Republic, while a pair of rocky outcrops called the Middle Rocks belong to Malaysia. Singapore administers the Horsburgh Lighthouse on Pedra Branca.
The Malaysian reception to the loss of Pedra Branca was initially calm and measured, but it soon became clear that Malaysians, in particular Johoreans, were upset at the loss of the island.
They blamed the government for neglecting the island for more than 100 years, allowing it to fall into the hands of Singapore. This soon grew into calls for Malaysia to assert its claim clearly to Pulau Pisang and other islands, over fears that they, too, might be lost.
Last Sunday, Johor MP Ahmad Maslan took a delegation of Umno members and the media to Pulau Pisang, located about 8km off the coast of Johor. His point was to put pressure on the government to develop the island to ensure that its sovereignty is never lost.
'We will not allow history to repeat itself. Losing Pedra Branca to Singapore is bad enough,' he said.
Dr Rais said the government was conducting studies on 100-plus islands in Malaysian territory that are not under dispute but need mapping.
Most of these islands are off the coast of Sabah, with the rest being in Sarawak, Johor, Malacca, Perak and Kedah.
'After what we learnt from Pedra Branca, which many Malaysians saw as a bitter pill, there is a surge of interest in wanting to ascertain our territories,' Dr Rais said.
He said he did not think the move by Malaysia to reclaim the lighthouse on Pulau Pisang, or to reclaim the waters around Middle Rocks, would hurt bilateral ties.
Malaysia said last week that it was considering a plan to merge the rocky outcrops.
Dr Rais said there had yet to be any progress on outstanding bilateral issues, including the price of water that Malaysia sells to Singapore, and the status of Malaysia's railway land in the Republic.
'During my last visit to Singapore, we had decided, without prejudice, to activate some parts of the Points of Agreement,' he said, referring to the agreement signed in 1990 on the railway land.
But further developments will be left to both heads of government to decide, he said.
