Singapore, Malaysia should set up ways for the young to build ties: President

The aim is for them to develop a stronger culture of support and understanding

- Goh Yan Han Political Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR - Singapore and Malaysia should multiply the opportunities for their young people to build relationships across the Causeway, President Halimah Yacob said on Wednesday.

They will be the future leaders of the countries, and have to believe strongly in the importance of good bilateral relations for mutual growth, benefit and survival, she said.

She added that while ties are close now, people from the current generation in leadership lived through shared history and economy-building, and learnt together the importance of economic and social interdependence.

"But our lived experiences may not be applicable to our young ones... So, we need to provide them with opportunities, with platforms, where they can then acquire these experiences," said Madam Halimah.

She was speaking to the media at the end of her three-day state visit to Malaysia.

She had been invited by the Malaysian King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, following his visit to Singapore last October.

Responding to a question on what young people from both countries can learn from one another, she said that they may have different thoughts from the older generation, and their relationships across the Causeway must be invested in to develop a stronger culture of support and understanding.

For example, there could be more exchange programmes for schoolchildren, which need not be confined only to Kuala Lumpur, but could be extended to different Malaysian states, she suggested.