SINGAPORE – Singapore and Malaysia both voted in support of the United Nations resolution that called for humanitarian assistance and a humanitarian truce for the Israel-Hamas conflict.

This is despite the two countries’ differences in their relations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said such differences in their diplomatic situations will not affect their bilateral relations.

He was speaking at a joint press conference for the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat at the Istana on Monday.

His Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim noted a recent UN resolution calling for humanitarian assistance and a humanitarian truce in the Middle East.

“That position is jointly endorsed by both countries and majority of the countries in the world,” said Datuk Seri Anwar.

PM Lee added that both Singapore and Malaysia have expressed their respective views on the conflict.

“Singapore has made repeated statements about this, and condemned what’s happening... and hoping that the two parties can make progress towards a negotiated two-state solution to the Middle East,” he said.

On Malaysia, PM Lee said: “Their situation is not the same as ours because we have diplomatic relations with Israel.

“But at the same time, we have friendly relations with the Palestine authority.”

He noted that Malaysia has very friendly relations with the Palestinian Authority, but no diplomatic relations with Israel.

“So the diplomatic situation is not identical, but there’s no reason for that to cause a difficulty between Malaysia and Singapore,” said PM Lee.

The two leaders made the comments when asked by the media what specific approaches their countries would take to ensure that their reactions to the Israel-Hamas war and the ground sentiments do not have spillover effects, especially on mutual investments, bilateral cooperation and longstanding ties.

Mr Anwar said what is critical for now is peace, and to stop the killings of civilians, babies and women. He added that he has been in touch with many Arab leaders and has expressed Malaysia’s support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Mr Anwar is in Singapore from Sunday for the 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat at the invitation of PM Lee.

The two-day retreat, which is a key annual platform for the prime ministers to meet and discuss bilateral issues, is the first one to be held since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

The retreat comes as Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise cross-border attack in southern Israel on Oct 7 that killed around 1,400 people. Israel has since begun a bombardment of Gaza, where the death toll has climbed to 7,650, according to a report last Saturday by the Palestinian Health Ministry.

On Sunday, Singapore’s Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said the Republic took a clear stand and expressed its concerns on the grave situation in Gaza by supporting the UN resolution last Friday calling for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce.

He said Singapore cast a “very major vote” in support of the non-binding resolution drafted by the Arab states, which received 121 votes in favour, 14 against and 44 abstentions.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Mr Shanmugam noted that the resolution – titled “Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations” – had called for a truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.

It also called for an immediate and unhindered provision of essential supplies to civilians in Gaza, and for Israel to rescind its evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip, and rejected the forced transfer of Palestinians.

The resolution also reaffirmed that the solution to the conflict should be through a peaceful two-state solution, Mr Shanmugam said at an event organised by non-profit organisation Humanity Matters to pack medical and relief supplies for people in Gaza.

Last Saturday, Mr Shanmugam also held a closed-door meeting with more than 200 Malay-Muslim community leaders to explain the Government’s position on the matter. He noted that there has been a lot of misinformation and disinformation about the situation and the Government’s position.

Acknowledging the strong need and desire in the community to do something about the situation, he said efforts such as the one on Sunday to send supplies to people in Gaza are constructive ways to help.

Another way is to make Singapore’s position known internationally, like the way the country voted at the UN, he added.