This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on December 11, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: In response to Malaysia’s charge that it selectively published documents relating to its disputed Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures for Seletar Airport, Singapore’s ministry of transport (MoT) says the correspondence it released was to address media queries whether the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) had consulted its Malaysian counterparts in December last year.

“The queries arose from Malaysia’s inaccurate claim earlier in the day that this matter had only come to their attention two months ago (October 2018),” it said in a statement last night.

It was responding to Malaysia’s MoT’s accusation in a statement issued earlier yesterday that Singapore wanted to influence public opinion with its “partial and selective” public release on Dec 4 of documents relating to consultations held with Malaysia on the proposed flight path for the Seletar Airport.

In the statement, Malaysia told Singapore to also release letters from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to CAAS, dated Oct 9, Nov 15, Nov 21, and Nov 28 this year.

“Failing to do so, we are prepared to release them for full disclosure of such information for the public’s comprehension of our stand on the same,” it said.

To this, Singapore said its view is that negotiations should be kept confidential.

It said Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke had expressed a similar view on Dec 4. “Nonetheless, we have no objection if Malaysia feels the need to release correspondence on this matter. However, we observe that the Malaysia’s MoT has only mentioned its letters from October and November 2018.

“For transparency, Malaysia should ensure that all correspondence and records of discussions between Singapore and Malaysia be published, including the record of discussion of the latest meeting between the two countries on Nov 29-30, 2018,” it added.

The dispute over the ILS, which is a landing navigation aid to guide aircraft to a runway, arose after Singapore broadcast it in its Aeronautical Information Publication on Dec 1 without Malaysia’s agreement.

The published ILS noted that aircraft’s flight approach to Seletar Airport would be from the north, over Pasir Gudang, Johor, which Loke had argued would encroach into Malaysian airspace.