JOHOR BARU, June 28 — Regent of Johor Tunku Mahkota Ismail today graced the 100th anniversary celebration of the Johor Causeway that links Johor and Singapore.

His Royal Highness also witnessed an exchange of souvenirs between the Johor Government, represented by Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, and the Singapore Government, represented by its Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, to mark a century of good relations between the two countries.

During the ceremony, 100 pigeons were also released to symbolise the 100th anniversary of the causeway.

Also present were Johor Royal Court Council president Datuk Dr Abdul Rahim Ramli, State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Dr Azmi Rohani and Johor Economic, Tourism and Cultural Office (JETCO) chairman Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad.

The 10-minute historic event was held in the middle of the causeway, which was deemed the busiest causeway in the world.

The celebration continued with the delegations from both countries proceeding to visit the exhibition on the 100th celebration of the causeway at the Johor Figures Museum in Bukit Senyum here, and later to a similar exhibition at the Woodlands Civic Centre in Singapore.

The 1,056-metre-long Johor Causeway was the first land route opened to connect Malaysia and Singapore in 1924, followed by the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (Linkedua) in 1998.

An estimated 350,000 travellers go back and forth between the two countries every day using various types of motor vehicles and trains on the causeway, which also houses the pipeline that supplies raw water to Singapore. — Bernama