KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday (Jan 18) denied giving the green light for Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian to visit a Malaysian vessel anchored in Singapore waters.

This comes a day after Mr Osman said he had obtained “unofficial blessing” from Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and his deputy before his “unauthorised visit” to the Pedoman vessel on Jan 9. 

The visit – a day after the foreign ministers of both countries held positive talks on the maritime dispute – led Singapore to postpone joint ministerial committee talks on Iskandar Malaysia.

In a press release, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said it “wishes to set the record straight”.

“Upon learning of the planned visit from a Malaysian enforcement agency on the morning of Jan 9 itself, ministry officials, under the advice of the foreign minister, immediately and repeatedly contacted the chief minister’s office and conveyed a message not to proceed with the visit,” said the release.

“The ministry was concerned that such a visit would be counter-productive after the positive and constructive outcome of the bilateral meetings between the foreign minister and the foreign minister of Singapore just the day before.”

The ministry added: “When contacted, the chief minister at the time was already onboard a vessel and heading towards the Johor Bahru port.”

It also said it wants to focus on the working group that Malaysia and Singapore had agreed to set up following the Jan 8 meeting between the two foreign ministers. 

“The ministry wishes to concentrate its efforts on the working group and looks forward to hosting the first meeting at the end of this month, a testament of its commitment to strengthen bilateral relations with Singapore based on equality and mutual respect,” it said.

On Thursday, Mr Osman was quoted as saying by the Malay Mail that he had received “unofficial blessing” from Wisma Putra before visiting the vessel.

“They did not stop me at all from visiting the area,” he said.

The chief minister said he was unfazed by the criticisms, adding that his actions have been supported by grassroots leaders.

He noted that he was not only Johor’s chief minister, but also the chairman of the state’s security council. His role in the council required him to personally understand the maritime dispute, said Mr Osman.

Singapore had described the “unauthorised visit” to the Pedoman as “a provocative act” that went against the spirit of the agreement by both countries to resolve bilateral issues in a calm and constructive manner.

Both countries have been embroiled in an airspace and maritime dispute. 

READ: Singapore, Malaysia maritime dispute: A timeline

READ: Singapore, Malaysia airspace dispute: What we know and timeline

Malaysian government vessels have made repeated incursions into Singapore territorial waters in recent months, after Malaysia extended the Johor Bahru port limits in October, encroaching into Singapore territorial waters off Tuas.

Singapore has protested the port limit extension and the movements of the vessels. Singapore’s Transport Ministry also extended Singapore’s port limits off Tuas on Dec 6 in response.

The two neighbours have, however, taken steps to try and resolve the issues.

READ: An open, candid talk on issues: Dr Balakrishnan on meeting with Malaysia Economic Affairs Minister

On Monday, Singapore’s Dr Balakrishnan said in a ministerial statement in Parliament that both sides must act in “good faith” to overcome bilateral issues.

Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen also said in Parliament that while Singapore’s security agencies have the capability to compel intruding Malaysian government vessels to leave, they have been ordered for the time being to “exercise restraint and avoid escalating tensions”.

On Wednesday, Malaysian Minister of Economic Affairs Mohamed Azmin Ali told Channel NewsAsia that the momentum of bilateral ties is “very positive”.

Mr Azmin noted that there were “issues that we have to deal with”, but he did not want “a particular statement by any side” to derail the main objective of both governments.

On Thursday, Malaysia’s former foreign minister Anifah Aman also weighed in on the issue and urged the relevant parties not to indulge in any provocative action.

In a press statement, he noted that during his tenure as foreign minister, both countries had also faced challenges but always overcame them in a “calm and effective” manner.

He said that those who did not have a proper understanding of the background of bilateral ties should not make any comment without considering the consequences.

“If a resolution cannot be achieved, other efforts will be taken to bring the issue to an international court or tribunal,” he added.

“These efforts will be carried out in a prudent and wise manner.”

“Singapore is one of Malaysia’s partners and a close ally in championing a common stand on multilateral and international issues. These values and elements should be taken into account in establishing a healthy diplomatic relationship,” Mr Anifah said.

“Let us not allow our egos to destroy what we have built thus far.”

SINGAPORE: The Court of Appeal on Friday (Jan 18) heard the arguments in Mr Li Shengwu’s appeal against a previous decision that allowed the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to serve papers on him outside Singapore.

The papers were in relation to a contempt of court case. Mr Li, the nephew of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was taken to court by the AGC for allegedly saying in a Facebook post in July 2017 that Singapore has a “pliant court system” and that the Singapore Government was “very litigious”.

Mr Li, 34, had applied to set aside the court order that granted the AGC permission to serve papers on him in the US, but the High Court dismissed his application in March 2018.

READ: AGC takes action against Li Shengwu for contempt of court over Facebook post

Mr Li, who now lives in the United States and is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard University, then turned to the highest court in Singapore – the Apex Court, in a bid to appeal the High Court’s decision.

After an Apex Court hearing in September last year, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal Judith Prakash and Steven Chong granted Mr Li the green light to appeal against the High Court’s decision.

The Court of Appeal directed both the AGC’s lawyers and Mr Li’s lawyers to make legal submissions addressing questions including: What written laws, if any, allow the Singapore Court to exercise substantive jurisdiction over a person located overseas in a contempt matter; and whether the AGC can rely on a newly enacted law to serve documents on a person whose alleged contempt of court was committed before the law was enacted.

Mr Li’s lawyer, Abraham Vergis, along with AGC’s senior counsel Francis Ng, made their arguments in a packed open court to Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Judges of Appeal Tay Yong Kwang and Steven Chong.

Mr Vergis took issue with what he said was the AGC changing the basis of jurisdiction, but Mr Ng said its position “has not changed”.

Mr Vergis also asserted that the court has no power to serve contempt proceedings on a person overseas, unless the person submits to the court.

The judges reserved their judgment.

FACEBOOK POST MADE ON THE BACK OF OXLEY ROAD SPAT

The Facebook post at the heart of the case was made on the back of a public spat between Mr Li’s father, aunt and uncle: Mr Lee Hsien Yang, Dr Lee Wei Ling and PM Lee.

READ: Dispute over 38 Oxley Road: A timeline of events

The arguments revolved around the future of the former family home at 38 Oxley Road, which belonged to Mr Li’s grandfather, founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

In the months since the last public hearing over Mr Li’s case, his father Mr Lee Hsien Yang has spoken out on Facebook about a case of “possible professional misconduct” that the AGC has flagged to the Law Society over his wife, Ms Lee Suet Fern.

READ: AGC alleges ‘possible professional misconduct’ by Lee Hsien Yang’s wife

READ: Lee Hsien Yang says wife was never Lee Kuan Yew’s lawyer, questions timing of AGC’s move

AGC said in a statement earlier this month that Ms Lee “appears to have prepared the Last Will of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and arranged for Mr Lee Kuan Yew to execute it, despite the fact that her husband, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, is one of the beneficiaries under the Last Will”.

Both Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Dr Lee Wei Ling took to Facebook to air their views about the AGC’s “relentless” pursuit of Mr Li, as well as its assertions against Ms Lee Suet Fern.

SINGAPORE: Israeli biotechnology company BetterAir is aiming to capture a slice of Asia’s burgeoning air purifier market as it brings its products to Singapore for the first time.  

According to Research and Markets, the Asia Pacific market is the fastest growing and will account for 35 per cent of the global market share by the end of 2023.

BetterAir’s president for North America Taly Dery explained during a recent interview with Channel NewsAsia that Singapore is a good market as it has one of the highest rates of asthma and allergies in the world. Parents are also increasingly particular about the environments their infants and young children live in.

About 5 per cent of adults and 20 per cent of children here have asthma, according to the Ministry of Health’s website. 

The company which was founded in 2011 launched its probiotics-based air purifiers in the local market on Thursday (Jan 17).

It claims that spraying the air at regular intervals with its proprietary “good bacteria”, which it has named Enviro-Biotics, improves indoor air quality and prolong the cleanliness of indoor surfaces. They do so by consuming contaminants and allergens such as dead skin cells, dust mite excrement and pet dander which happen to be food for the bad bacteria.

This will keep the latter from growing out of hand, helping prevent illnesses and allergies from rearing up.

READ: Southeast Asia haze tied to hospitalisation for breathing problems

In the interview, Ms Dery said she has spent a long time battling severe allergies, particularly to dust mites. During that time, she was sneezing all the time regardless of what environment she was in.

Finding a solution to her health woes has not been easy.

“I tried every product in the market (for my allergies) for two years (but nothing worked),” the 42-year-old Israel-born entrepreneur shared.

That was until she was introduced to BetterAir’s probiotics-based air purifier. Ms Dery shared that given her sensitivity to mould and bacteria in the environment, she knows quite quickly whether an air purifier works or not.

She stopped sneezing after using it for a week.

A third-party study by US-based lab EMSL Analytical which looked at the impact of probiotics on allergens found in homes appeared to corroborate her experience. The study found that pet and cockroach allergens were reduced by 100 per cent while two unnamed allergens saw similar results after a month.

However, the positive effect of BetterAir’s product is not universally accepted. A 2016 article by US media outlet Vice’s health site Tonic pointed out that the evidence that this process actually works is “scant at best”, and the author’s personal experience with the device yielded no difference.

READ: Exposing your children to dirt boosts their immune system. A commentary

“IF SINGAPORE IMPLEMENTS, THEN EVERYONE WILL”

The BetterAir executive is undaunted by the sceptics, however, and shared how there are plans to introduce its products to more commercial settings such as hospitals and airplanes in the future.

Hospitals, in particular, are a key customer demographic for BetterAir given Ms Dery’s harrowing personal experience.

She recounted how she came down with a major infection in 2014, two weeks after undergoing surgery in a hospital.

“I actually collapsed suddenly,” Ms Dery said, adding she found out she was infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) due to her initial hospital stay.

The issue of patients suffering from secondary infections such as MRSA from hospitals is one that authorities here are paying attention to. According to a local study released last year, 11.9 per cent of the 5,415 adult patients in 13 acute hospitals here caught an infection while being treated for other conditions.

Her colleague and Southeast Asia CEO Amir Yaar said in the same interview that there are plans to deepen its presence here, with the possibility of setting up an R&D lab if there is support from the relevant parties.

“We chose Singapore as everything here is clean and green … and it embraces good technology,” Mr Yaar said.

“If Singapore implements (our product), then everyone (in the region) will.”

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian on Thursday (Jan 17) defended his decision to visit a Malaysian vessel anchored in Singapore waters, adding that his actions have been supported by grassroots leaders.

His “unauthorised visit” to the Pedoman vessel on Jan 9 resulted in a decision by Singapore to postpone joint ministerial committee talks on Iskandar Malaysia.

According to a report by the Malay Mail, Mr Osman said he was unfazed by the criticisms.

“In fact, I received a few messages and a video via Whatsapp from several Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia division leaders and ketua kampungs (village chiefs) that gave their support to me,” he said.

“Maybe in the next few days, there will be more people that will give their support to me on the issue,” he said after attending an international Islamic and halal festival.

The chief minister added that he had received “unofficial blessing” from Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah and his deputy before visiting the vessel.

“They did not stop me at all from visiting the area,” he said, according to the Malay Mail.

He noted that he was not only Johor’s Chief Minister, but also the chairman of the state’s security council. His role in the council required him to personally understand the maritime dispute, said Mr Osman.

Singapore and Malaysia have been embroiled in an airspace and maritime dispute. 

READ: Singapore, Malaysia maritime dispute: A timeline

READ: Singapore, Malaysia airspace dispute: What we know and timeline

Malaysian government vessels have made repeated incursions into Singapore territorial waters in recent months, after Malaysia extended the Johor Bahru port limits in October, encroaching into Singapore territorial waters off Tuas.

Singapore has protested the port limit extension and the movements of the vessels. Singapore’s Transport Ministry also extended Singapore’s port limits off Tuas on Dec 6 in response.

On Jan 8, both countries agreed to establish a working group to study and discuss legal and operational matters relating to the maritime dispute, in order to provide a basis for further discussions and negotiations. 

However the next day, Mr Osman was seen making “an unauthorised visit” to the Pedoman, in “a provocative act” that went against the spirit of the agreement by both countries to resolve bilateral issues in a calm and constructive manner, said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Over the weekend, Malaysian Minister for Economic Affairs Azmin Ali met Singapore ministers to discuss bilateral issues.

READ: An open, candid talk on issues: Dr Balakrishnan on meeting with Malaysia Economic Affairs Minister

On Monday, Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said in a ministerial statement in Parliament that both sides must act in “good faith” to overcome bilateral issues.

Mr Osman’s “publicised visit” undermined the goodwill and trust necessary for further cooperation between the two countries, and “made it untenable” for Singapore and Malaysia to proceed with the joint ministerial committee talks for Iskandar Malaysia, Dr Balakrishnan added.

“We will always take appropriate measures to safeguard our interest and any country dealing with Singapore must not assume that it is cost-free to embark on any adventures or antics against us. There will be consequences,” he said when responding to a question on what further action Singapore could take if there are further intrusions.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen also said in Parliament on Tuesday that while Singapore’s security agencies have the capability to compel intruding Malaysian government vessels to leave, they have been ordered for the time being to “exercise restraint and avoid escalating tensions”.

On Wednesday, Mr Azmin told Channel NewsAsia that the momentum of bilateral ties is “very positive”.

Mr Azmin noted that there were “issues that we have to deal with”, but he did not want “a particular statement by any side” to derail the main objective of both governments.

Mr Saifuddin also said on Wednesday that that bilateral relations remain good despite the need for further discussions on several matters. 

“Our relations with Singapore remain good. There are some issues but we are talking to each other, and that is very important. 

Meanwhile, Johor Information, Entrepreneurship Development, Cooperatives and Creative Economy Committee chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, who was also at the Islamic festival, lauded Mr Osman’s visit as a patriotic move.

“What the Johor Mentri Besar (chief minister) did was for the love of the state, country and also its sovereignty,” he said on Thursday, adding that there was no provocation.