The Malaysian Insight

MALAYSIA will send a protest note to Singapore over the island republic’s plan to use southern Johor airspace for flight operations at Seletar Airport, and start talks on taking back its delegated airspace in the south.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Singapore, without Malaysia’s consent, had on December 1 issued new Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures for the Seletar Airport to be enforced on January 3.

The new ILS procedures - which provide precision lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway - in Singapore’s Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), would jeopardise development in Pasir Gudang, Loke said. 

The commercial Seletar airport in northeastern Singapore is just 2km from the border with Johor.

“Every building or structure has to comply with shipyard control and height limits set by international standards. Singapore’s AIP will jeopardise shipping at Pasir Gudang port.

“The new ILS procedures are against the principle of a nation’s sovereignty, as provided under the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) 1944,” Loke told the Dewan Rakyat today. 

“To safeguard our airspace sovereignty and Pasir Gudang’s development, Malaysia had decided not to allow Singapore to go ahead with the new ILS. This decision was communicated to Singapore on November 28 and 29.

“But Singapore went ahead with the ILS… As such, Malaysia, through the Foreign Ministry, will issue Singapore a protest note immediately.”

Loke was replying a question from Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) on whether development around Pasir Gudang, including Johor Port, would be jeopardised by increased flight operations at Seletar airport.

Hassan asked if Malaysia would take back the delegated airspace in southern Johor from Singapore for the sake of national interest.

Loke said the government was always committed in defending the nation’s interests and sovereignty, putting due attention on matters related to airspace management.

He said Malaysia had also informed Singapore on November 29 of plans to take back its delegated airspace in stages, with the first phase beginning in the end of 2019 and the next in 2023.

“It has to be done in stages for air navigation services providers in both countries to coordinate air traffic control procedures to ensure safe, efficient and orderly flight movements.

“We will talk in detail with Singapore on retrieving our delegated airspace in the south, and if necessary, we will refer to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO),” he said.

ICAO is the United Nations body that codifies international air navigation principles and techniques, and fosters the planning and development of international air transport.

Aviation regulators in Malaysia and Singapore have been at odds over the new turboprop terminal in Seletar.

Malaysian airline Firefly, which exclusively operates turboprop planes, recently had to cancel its flights to Singapore because Malaysian regulators refused it permission to operate at the new terminal.

But the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia has said it was “willing to work with Singapore on the regulatory issues related to Singapore’s plan to move Firefly operations from Changi Airport to Seletar Airport, including on outstanding airspace issues”.

To a supplementary question from Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) on how the government was dealing with Singapore, Loke said it was not Malaysia’s stand to take a confrontational approach with any party, especially its neighbours.

“We will not go overboard or be confrontational. But this issue has to do with our national sovereignty. We will do our utmost to defend our sovereignty.

“We have to protect our airspace and the interests of Johor and its people. We will continue to negotiate and explore other approaches to ensure our sovereignty is protected.” – December 4, 2018.