BEIJING, Sept 18 (Askume) – Malaysian Sultan Ibrahim will make a four-day visit to China, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.The ceremonial ruler of the southern state of Johor may seek support from neighbouring Singapore to revive schemes to boost connectivity.
In January, Sultan Ibrahim was appointed the country’s 17th king under a unique monarchical system in which the heads of Malaysia’s nine royal families become king every five years and are expected to stay above politics.
But the 65-year-old king has said he wants to have a say on national political issues and in an interview with Singapore’s Straits Times before taking office, he proposed that Malaysia’s state-owned oil company Petronas and the national anti-corruption agency report directly to the king.
He will visit China from September 19 to 22 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement but did not give further details.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Jiang visited Kuala Lumpur in June and expressed interest in Malaysia’s efforts to link Malaysia with other Chinese-backed rail projects in Laos and Thailand through the US$10 billion East Coast Rail Link.
Lee said the proposal would materialise a plan for a pan-Asian railway from Kunming in China to Singapore, which would likely pass through Johor, where Ibrahim also hopes to develop a rail line.
Ibrahim also spoke about plans to revive stalled high-speed rail projects between Malaysia and Singapore, including a crossing at Forest City, a $100 billion China-backed reclamation and development near Johor state project in which he has a stake.
(This article has been republished to correct the spelling of “rail link project” in paragraph 5)
