JOHOR BAHRU: The signing of a deal between Malaysia and Singapore on a proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in southern Johor state – originally planned for Dec 9 during the annual leaders’ retreat – has been postponed to January, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the decision was made after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong tested positive for COVID-19.
During a speech in the Malaysian senate on Wednesday Mr Anwar said: “The Malaysia government (was scheduled to) sign an agreement with Singapore on the Johor-Singapore SEZ on Dec 9.
But last night, the prime minister of Singapore informed me that (he has) COVID and hence the signing of the agreement … will be postponed to January.”
“This is the latest info I have, he told me that he did not want to infect me or (my wife) Azizah,” he added.
The Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat was scheduled to be held from Dec 8 to Dec 9 in Malaysia’s administrative capital, Putrajaya, according to regional media.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Dec 3), Mr Wong said he had tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time and will self-isolate while working from home.
“Initially I thought it might just be a normal flu bug. But I just took a test to be sure. Turns out, I’ve finally succumbed to COVID after all these years!” he wrote.
“I’m feeling fine overall, and will self-isolate while working from home.”
