By Sangwon Suh and
Roger Mitton / Kuala Lumpur
On May 23, just eight days before ASEAN foreign ministers met in Kuala Lumpur to cement their decision to admit Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, an editorial appeared in the Singapore newspaper The Straits Times lambasting the Yangon military regime. While asserting that constructive engagement must remain, the article said "it must be made clear this was never intended as carte blanche to deny the Myanmar people their popular will." The newspaper is seen as the unofficial voice of the Singapore government, so the editorial perplexed Malaysian officials, who are hosting a 30th anniversary bash for the enlarged grouping this year. Even Malaysians not in government found the commentary puzzling, possibly even hypocritical. Says prominent academic Chandra Muzaffar: "I was a bit surprised given Singapore's extensive [commercial] ties with Myanmar."
It turned out agreeably in the end. At the foreign ministers' meeting, Singapore readily acceded to Myanmar's admission. So why the turbulence beforehand? Perhaps it was an echo of the strategy of the Philippine and Thai governments, which have used objections as a face-saving way to show concern over human rights while ultimately going along. Then again, perhaps it had to do with an ongoing spat between Singapore and Malaysia. The quarrel had begun with the now well-known comment by Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew that the Malaysian state of Johor was notorious for crime. Lee later apologized, but not before causing an outcry in Malaysia.
The initial uproar has fizzled but the bad blood remains. After Singapore Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng remarked that it was only natural for Singaporeans not to go where they felt unwelcome, Malaysian Tourism Minister Sabbaruddin Chik retorted, "We have never said Singaporeans are not welcome." Malaysian shipping organizations have urged businesses not to use the port facilities of Singapore. And when the Malaysian New Straits Times heard about Singapore grassroots organizations planning group holiday tours to Thailand and Indonesia, it ran two editorial cartoons. One showed a figure resembling Lee handing out condoms to departing Singapore tourists. The other depicted the same figure conducting HIV tests on those returning.
The cartoons sparked a strong reaction -- which came not from Singapore but from Thailand, whose officials objected to their country being portrayed as sex-driven and AIDS-stricken. Said one: "We have been hit by a stray bullet in the fight between Singapore and Malaysia."
The bullets keep flying as neither Kuala Lumpur nor Singapore seem to have the will to end the tiff. In Malaysia, public opinion remains vociferously disenchanted with Singapore. The Singaporeans are not feeling friendly either. "The cartoons were quite infantile," says Gerard Lim of a Singapore political discussion group. He notes that while Singaporeans realized Lee's original comment would have offended their neighbor, "Malaysia aggravated the situation, and, with the mud-slinging, public opinion has swung back to Singapore."
No kidding. A June 1 article in The Straits Times said: "Singapore has no intention of being cowed by its northern neighbor." MPs have spoken out harshly against Malaysia. Even Singapore Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar admits "we are going through a bad patch." The dispute may well mitigate against Lee attending the 30th party -- a pity since, aside from Indonesia's Suharto, he is the only founder still in government. Perhaps such an undesirable possibility might spur both sides to end the bitter war of words.
-- With reporting by Santha Oorjitham / Singapore
