Malaysia’s Johor sultan backs plans for economic zone, solar energy sales between state and Singapore

The plan, currently under negotiation by the two national governments, could also see Johor sell solar energy to Singapore

The Sultan of Johor is set to be Malaysia’s head of state – a title rotated among the heads of the country’s royal households – when the current king’s term ends on January 30

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Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor. Photo: Facebook

Published: 8:02pm, 22 Sep 2023

The influential Malaysian monarch Sultan Ibrahim Ismail has lent his support to plans for a special economic zone between Singapore and the state of Johor bordering the island republic.

Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, the head of Johor’s royal household, said the plan, currently being deliberated upon by the national governments of the neighbours, could also see Johor supply solar energy to Singapore.

In an interview with the Malaysian national news agency Bernama published this week, the sultan was quoted as saying that Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife Ho Ching had expressed interest for deepened collaboration between Johor and Singapore during his recent visit to the island republic.

Ho Ching is a former chief executive of Singapore’s state investor Temasek Holdings. While Malaysia-Singapore ties have ebbed and flowed over the decades, the republic’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has long fostered close ties with Johor royalty.

Sultan Ibrahim last year conferred Johor’s top state honours on Prime Minister Lee and Ho Ching, in recognition of the “special relationship since time immemorial” between his state and Singapore.

In the Bernama interview, Sultan Ibrahim also signalled his receptiveness for Johor’s “thousands of hectares of unused land” to be used for solar energy production, with Singapore seen as a key market.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Ho Ching. File photo: Reuters