The Johor Youth Council has urged state Menteri Besar Osman Sapian to clear the air over issues surrounding its maritime and air space disputes with neighbouring Singapore.

Council chief Onn Mahathir Md Nasir said this was because the recent disputes could trigger tensions between Putrajaya and the Johor state administration.

"Firstly, if the Johor menteri besar felt he has been slandered and bullied by Singapore, he should present evidence in the form of latitude and longitude reports which showed he never trespassed into Singaporean waters," said Onn in a statement.

"Secondly, if there is truth to allegations that Wisma Putra did not give blessings for the Johor Menteri Besar's 'visit', the matter should be addressed through diplomatic channels to prevent strained relations between both countries."

Onn said his call was made following an earlier statement made by Hassan Abdul Karim, in which the Johor PKR chief expressed disappointment with Harapan leaders at state and federal levels who had supposedly failed to defend Osman against Singapore's allegations.

"Singapore bullied the Johor MB and made him a scapegoat as well as a punching bag, with the leaders in Putrajaya ignoring the issue," Hassan said in a statement last night.

Hassan, who is also Pasir Gudang MP, had further claimed that Johor state government leaders had remained silent and left Osman alone to defend himself against the accusations.

Commenting further, Onn said any truth to Hassan's claims would be a "slap" (tamparan) towards Osman's administration.

"The Johor Youth Council takes the stand that this issue must be addressed urgently," said Onn, adding that Osman could also prove himself to be a magnanimous leader and apologise for the alleged incident.

"There is no benefit from becoming a hero by extending this polemic.

"Instead, focusing on efforts to develop the state, taking care of the people's welfare, focussing on fulfilling promises and protecting the sovereignty of the state are ways to be known as the people's hero," he added.

On Sunday, Osman again insisted that he had not trespassed into Singaporean waters last week, and had no intention to cause a provocation when he visited the MV Pedoman Vessel.

Earlier the same day, Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said that it had proposed that the annual meeting for the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia be postponed.

The meeting had originally been scheduled to be held on Jan 13 and 14.

Singapore's Today Online quoted Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan as telling its lawmakers yesterday in parliament that the island republic has "sharp elbows" and was not afraid to use them when faced with alleged provocations.

Balakrishnan also reportedly said that in a recent discussion with Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali, both had agreed on the importance of ministers and other government officials from both countries adopting an attitude of "trying to solve and not aggravate" the situation further.

The maritime tug-of-war: How did it start and what are the stakes?