Gay Loong happy his wife lost lawsuit in Hague Court and "welcomes" decision. Idiot

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

This arsehole is happy because he wasted taxpayer money in this useless lawsuit that he lost? WTF? Can he kindly reveal how much legal fees and other costs Singapore tax payers got stuck with? I even understand that they had to get former FM George Yeo to go to London to testify. How much did that cost? And did he sabo them by giving testimony against them?

Rail land dispute settled by tribunal; PM Lee welcomes 'impartial, amicable' resolution

Malaysia will not have to pay development charges on former Malayan Railway land in Keppel, Kranji and Woodlands, Permanent Court of Arbitration arbitral tribunal decides.



SINGAPORE: A tribunal has ruled that M+S Pte Ltd - a joint investment company co-owned by Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional and Singapore's Temasek Holdings - will not have to pay development charges on land formerly occupied by Malayan Railways (KTM) in Singapore.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong welcomed the decision, saying on Friday (Oct 31) that he was "happy that Singapore and Malaysia have been able to resolve this dispute in this impartial and amicable way".

The issue had gone before a three-person Arbitral Tribunal after Mr Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak announced in September 2010 that the countries had different views relating to the development charges on three parcels of land in Tanjong Pagar (or Keppel), Kranji and Woodlands.

In the Malaysia-Singapore 1990 Points of Agreement (POA), it had been agreed that KTM would vacate its former railway land in Singapore, with the land handed over for development by M+S Pte Ltd, a joint venture split 60:40 between Khazanah and Temasek. However, the countries held different perspectives of the development charges - reportedly in the region of S$1.4 billion - that remained unresolved over the next two decades.

Under Singapore law, development charges are a tax on the enhanced value of land, resulting from the Government approving a development of higher value. Malaysia had argued that the charge should not apply to the three land parcels.

The tribunal was conducted under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

"SATISFIED WITH THE ARBITRAL PROCESS"

In a joint press release on Friday, the Foreign Affairs Ministries of the two countries announced that the tribunal had decided on Oct 30 that M+S Pte Ltd "would not have been liable to pay development charges on the Keppel, Kranji and Woodlands parcels if the said parcels had been vested in M+S Pte Ltd and if M+S Pte Ltd had actually developed the lands in accordance with the proposed land uses set out in the Annexes to the POA".

The ministries added: "Both Singapore and Malaysia are satisfied with the arbitral process and affirm that both countries were afforded the opportunity to fully present their case on the issue. Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to abide by and fully implement the decision of the Tribunal. By resolving this matter through third party arbitration, both countries have demonstrated our common commitment to settling disputes in an amicable manner, in accordance with international law.

"The full and successful implementation of the POA has paved the way for joint development projects and closer collaboration between Singapore and Malaysia. Both countries look forward to working closely together to further strengthen and broaden our bilateral cooperation."

CLOSER COLLABORATION

Mr Lee issued a statement on Friday welcoming the decision, and highlighting the success of the POA since 2011.

"This was an issue left over from the Points of Agreement (POA) which was signed in 1990. There was a question of whether development charge was payable on the three parcels of POA land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji, and Woodlands. Prime Minister Najib and I agreed to resolve it through arbitration. This has been done, and the Tribunal has decided that development charge was not payable," he said.

"Singapore fully accepts the Tribunal’s decision. It allows us to put this matter behind us. I am happy that Singapore and Malaysia have been able to resolve this dispute in this impartial and amicable way.

"The full and successful implementation of the POA in 2011 has paved the way for joint development projects and closer collaboration between Singapore and Malaysia. These include links in transport connectivity, and trade and investment. I look forward to making progress on them, and working with PM Najib bilaterally, and in ASEAN to benefit both countries.”


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