oneworldtalk

Malaysia can "do better" than Singapore if only it would treat its minority Chinese and Indian populations fairly, the city-state's founding leader has said in unexpectedly blunt comments about the rival neighbor.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's comments are likely to touch a raw nerve in Malaysia where ethnic tensions are never far below the surface over minority complaints about discrimination by the Malay Muslim dominated government.

Lee even suggested that Singapore wouldn't mind rejoining Malaysia if the latter accepted meritocracy instead of sticking to an affirmative action policy favoring the Malay majority.

"If they would just educate the Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens, they can equal us and even do better than us and we would be happy to rejoin them," Lee told two academics in a recent interview.

"We are a standing indictment of all the things that they can be doing differently," he said.

Singapore, led by Lee, split from the Malay federation in 1965, after a short-lived merger that soured amid concerns that Lee's Chinese-dominated party would influence politics in Malay Muslim dominated Malaysia.

Lee was the city state's prime minister until 1990 and now occupies an advisory position in the Cabinet, and is still believed to wield considerable influence over the government.

His comments about rejoining Malaysia, however, were rhetorical. There is zero chance of the two countries merging principally because neither government would want it, given the immense differences between the two countries and their cultures.

Malaysia's 26 million population is about 60 percent Malay, who control the government and many government-linked companies. Chinese are about 25 percent and Indians 10 percent. In Singapore, Chinese form 77 percent of its 4 million population while Malays are 14 percent and Indians 8 percent.

Singapore's economy _ driven by manufacturing, financial services and a growing biotechnology sector _ also is far more developed than Malaysia's, which is largely dependent on manufacturing and commodities exports such as palm oil and rubber.

Lee's interview was conducted Sept. 27 by Tom Plate of the University of California's Los Angeles Media Center and Jeffrey Cole of the University of Southern California's Annenberg Center.

kendoro <newsncom.php?memberid=3692> wrote:

f##k you lee kuan yew!!
where are the malays in the singapore armed forces
where are they in public service!
you re a f##king racist yourself!
damn you and your dictatorial ways..
where is jb jeyaratnam now?
at least in my country i have this website to critisize the govt
do you singaporeans?
oh i forgot kuan yew and family use the courts to bankrupt the opposition.
his daughter in law is head of temasek
his son is prime minister
singapore isnt a country its a company run by a family.
it realises it insignificance now ....
12/10 15:57:11

prizewinner74 <newsncom.php?memberid=2861> wrote:

No need to criticize s'pore & LKY...where r the non-malays in public service & the armed forces in Malaysia? sure his DIL runs temasek but here we have Scomi & ECM Libra & the ISA...no difference...at least the standard of living there is much better & the country is so much better managed...
12/10 16:36:12

Counterpointer <newsncom.php?memberid=309> wrote:

Do Malays in Singapore actually feel prouder that they are part of a society that's better managed with corruption in check, more prosperous, no NEP stigma attached to them, and with meritocracy being the order of the day, when compared to the Malays here?
...I Wonder..
12/10 16:48:55

WakeupMsia <newsncom.php?memberid=3135> wrote:

kendoro wrote:
1.f##k you lee kuan yew!!
2.where are the malays in the singapore armed forces
3.where are they in public service!
4.you re a f##king racist yourself!
5.damn you and your dictatorial ways..
6.where is jb jeyaratnam now?
7.at least in my country i have this website to critisize the govt
do you singaporeans?
8.oh i forgot kuan yew and family use the courts to bankrupt the opposition.
9.his daughter in law is head of temasek
10.his son is prime minister
11.singapore isnt a country its a company run by a family.
12.it realises it insignificance now ....

Reply to kendoro:
1.Dear Countryman, do not do unto other for God will skin you alive!
2.They are in their barracks, of course.
3.Please-lah, watch Spore news, Starsports. Go to Spore and see for yourself. Don't just stay in your nutshelf - nanti langsung otak kosong!
4.Yes. LKY is Chinese by race. Born in Spore on Sept 16,1923. Just celebrated his birthday.Nationality:Singaporean
5.Dictator? Ha! ha! But Spore is First World. We are Third World. When LKY speaks, the world listens. Regretably, you vocab is very very poor.
6.Thanks for your concern on JB Jeya. He is alive,fine and in Spore. Shall I relay your greetings to him?
7.Please-lah, not again. This website (MT) is not for CRITICISING THE GOVT. It's for constructive and sensible viewpoints put forth for the betterment of Malaysians. BTW, why are you so eager to critisize the Govt.?
8.The courts are there for JUSTICE. If you slander/libel w/o evidents and if the court finds you guilty, either you pay the fine or go to jail. Simple - The Rule of Law. Do you know what slander or libel means?
9.I get a good ROI from Temasek. Doesn't matter who the CEO is or related to, so long as he/she performs.
10. PM Lee, son of MM Lee. Well, PM Lee is qualified and capable. Don't be a Sour Grape! Do you know what SOUR GRAPE means?
11.My goodness! You can't differentiate between Country and Family! You can't be so Stup**, oop! I mean silly. Let me enlighten you. Country means a region, a nation, a state. Example : Maldives, Mali or Malaysia. Do you know where Maldives or Mali located? Family:a household or all those who live in one house(parents, children, servants). Example: Badawi, Jeanne, Kamalludin, Khairy, Nori. (THE MAN,2nd wife,Son,Son-in-Law, Daughter). Thank You for giving me this opportunity to enlighten you these words. I hope you grasp the meaning, otherwise, I do not know how to help you anymore.
12. No comment. I give up.
12/10 19:20:46

eddietlt <newsncom.php?memberid=14155> wrote:

Kendoro,
Unless you have worked and lived in Singapore, you will be not be able to appreciate the integrity and efficiency of the system of governance in Singapore. Race relation in Singapore is a lot more harmonious than Malaysia. The people are happier with their lives and consequently could focus on things that matter most in their lives - careers and family, which should be the case. Compare that to Malaysia where we spend considerable time agonising over race-based politics and policies, and corruption! Meritocracy in Singapore also ensures that there is fairness to all based on capability rather than skin-deep race-based policies. Productivity is a lot higher consequently. Meritocracy can be painful at times and to some. But can you show me a better alternative in a multi-ethnic society? What Singapore is today did not come overnight. The superb core values were cultivated over the last 4 decades of sincere, dedicated and committed nation building by its leaders to bring progress to all. Yes, there have been accusations by some quarters (mainly from the Malaysia if I am not wrong) of discrimination in certain sensitive jobs. But, overall a great majority of all ethnicity in Singapore are a lot happier than their counterparts in Malaysia. If you travel to Singapore and you chance upon a Singaporean Malay, try asking him why he has chosen to remain in Singapore and has not emigrated to Malaysia to enjoy bumi-status. You will then realise that Singapore has done a lot better in all aspects of nation building. Before criticising, gather your facts. Don't just rely on heresay, especially from the Malaysian media and their political masters
13/10 00:04:48

Mikey C <newsncom.php?memberid=10034> wrote:

I have worked and lived in Singapore some years back. While it may be true that the Singaporean malays are lagging behind others, the gap has been closed substantially over the years true emphasis on education and merit based policy. When a Malay succeed in S'pore, he or she is truly honoured and has every reason to be proud of his/hers achievement. Back here in Malaysia, the scenario is different. Even if success comes to a Malay solely because he is that good, his achievement is viewed somewhat tainted by a possibly skewed playing field.
What's worse is the Singaporean Malays dont think very highly of their Malaysian brethrens.
So its quite a joke when you get ppl like kendoro, shooting off their ..... like that.
13/10 00:13:52

Malaysia: Will the Planned Iskandar Development Region complement the role of Singapore or mimic and compete with it?
...
Given its proximity to Singapore, the state of Johor at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula is surprisingly undeveloped.
....
The level of interest from abroad is difficult to predict at present. Up until now overseas interest has focused on the port of Tanjung Pelepas (established in 1999 and owned by MMC Corp.) to which the Danish company Maersk and Evergreen Marine of Taiwan have relocated their operations from Singapore.
....
Commentators are seeing potential contradictions in the emphasis being placed on service industries in that these would appear to put the IDR into competition with Singapore. Singaporean investors are likely to look to Johor as a location for industrial and logistical developments benefiting from cheaper property prices and cost of labour that will complement the island state’s own economy. However, looking at the scale of the IDR plans one can see that they encompass investment in all economic sectors, including health and education. Stephanie Phang of Bloombergs quotes Chris Eng of the consultancy OSK Research as saying the scale of the projects was staggering and it was attended by risks.

Although it is early days for individual investors to be making financial commitments to the IDR area the Star newspaper says that those areas closest to the links to Singapore will be the most favourable for investment. Under Malaysia’s land code foreigners and foreign-owned companies have only been able to buy industrial property but last November it became possible for non-nationals to purchase residential property. However, the relevant section of the IDR’s own website says that this is only for own-residence and not for rental or investment purposes. Clearly, more light needs to be shed on the legal framework before investing will be safe ...

Going beyond the hype of media reports I would like to explore a little more thoroughly the idea of whether the IDR could be a realistic economic project for Singapore’s long-term economic involvement in Johor and, by extrapolation, Malaysia in general. Along with that, could it provide a fillip to other foreign investments into the IDR? Using the Malaysian premier’s own analogy, could the whole project develop into a relationship much like a Hong Kong’s with Shenzhen? If so, then the IDR could indeed become a prime and actual example of how economic diplomacy would pave the way for sustainable economic relations between Malaysia and Singapore in years to come.

However, by the same token, the IDR could also become the Achilles heel of a relationship often wrecked on the shores of irreconcilable ‘national’ economic interests, as witness the unresolved water supply issue and the much earlier parting of the ways of Malaysia and Singapore airlines. Much could go wrong if the political players fail to resolve or manage differences that have come with a baggage of historical irritations in Malaysia-Singapore relations.

... a reality check reveals several possible hitches. If one were to take Shenzhen as the model, clearly many criteria do not obtain in the IDR. First, a joint ministerial committee is far from being the equivalent of a governmental authority with full decision-making powers. Admittedly, the Malaysian government has said it will relax various governmental norms including keeping in abeyance the dreaded stipulations of affirmative action and quotas. Still, Johor and UMNO politics could get in the way. Some rumblings by detractors of the Abdullah Badawi government, not least of all the former premier Mahathir, have already dubbed the project as a ‘sell-out’ to Singaporean interests.

More serious would be the questions regarding Malaysian human resource capacities. Malaysia has a poor track record with respect to ‘mega’ projects and clearly, the IDR constitutes as one. From most accounts, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and Cyberjaya, constructs of the Mahathirian era, have remained in limbo. What could push the IDR (also known as the “Southern’ Corridor”) beyond the kind of problems that have stalled the MSC? Would it be the economic diplomacy factor? The hallmark of such diplomacy is to let economics lead the way rather than politics. But could Malay or Malaysian politics stall such a process?

In the current era of globalisation and open borders, it is has become axiomatic that private sector collaboration is the driver for economic cooperation and integration. If the IDR could prove to be the lynchpin for the beginnings of the economic integration of this region of Johor, to the industrial and financial hub of Singapore, the venture may well work. A bilateral economic zone is evidently a much better formula than the ASEAN ‘growth triangles’ initiative, which have not made much progress.

Johan Saravanamuttu is Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore and was the former Dean (Research) at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

Malaysia’s largest law firm, Zaid Ibrahim and Co has formed a strategic alliance with Allen & Gledhill, Singapore’s largest law firm.

The alliance, which is to commence on January 2008, is to allow the firms to better tap into the South East Asian markets and is to have a specific focus on Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand as well as Malaysia and Singapore.

“We will remain as separate firms but we will join our resources together in areas identified as having potential for the region,” said Zaid Ibrahim managing partner Chew Seng Kok.

He added that the key areas are corporate, finance including Islamic finance, corporate real estate and intellectual property.

More serious would be the questions regarding Malaysian human resource capacities. Malaysia has a poor track record with respect to ‘mega’ projects and clearly, the IDR constitutes as one. From most accounts, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and Cyberjaya, constructs of the Mahathirian era, have remained in limbo. What could push the IDR (also known as the “Southern’ Corridor”)beyond the kind of problems that have stalled the MSC? Would it be the economic diplomacy factor? The hallmark of such diplomacy is to let economics lead the way rather than politics. But could Malay or Malaysian politics stall such a process?