SEPANG: Malaysian and Singaporean authorities will meet in January to thrash out the dispute over Singapore’s use of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at its Seletar Airport, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said today.
The ILS has been a contentious issue and has put a strain on relations.
Loke, who was speaking at a press conference after launching the “Happy Guests, Caring Hosts” Service Culture Transformation Programme by Malaysia Airports, said he did not want to comment on the issue any further.
“Enough said about the issue, let the two sides meet as we have already decided to meet in Jan,” he said. “We have explained our side.”
Malaysia maintains that if Singapore goes on with the ILS, it would not only affect Pasir Gudang but also up north to Ayer Tawar and Kota Tinggi.
In a video Loke posted on his Facebook page, he explained why he was against the ILS.
He explained that as Seletar Airport is only 2km from Pasir Gudang, any planes landing at the airport will intrude into Malaysia’s airspace.
The height buffer from a distance of 3km and 6km from the Seletar Airport runway cannot be higher than 54m and 145m, respectively.
“This means, even a mobile crane would have breached the height limit and there are many tall buildings in Johor,” said Loke.
“We can’t even build tall buildings over Pasir Gudang if we allow that flight path and our Pasir Gudang Port will be subjected to higher risks and multiple restrictions.
“Previously, Seletar Airport did not use ILS and pilots can manoeuvre around obstacles, hence no height regulation is required around the flight path area.
“But now, it is compulsory to impose height restrictions for ILS.”
