Singapore jealous of Malaysia's progress, minister says

SINGAPOREAN jealousy of Malaysia's progress is among the factors affecting relations, a minister said today.

Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz told parliament that Singapore saw Malaysia as a competitor and its progress as a threat.

"Of course, if it feels threatened, once in a while it will do something so that we are not focused on what we want to do," he was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying.

For example, he said, Singapore felt threatened by Malaysia's move to develop its own ports so it would no longer use the republic's port.

Several government backbenchers had urged the foreign ministry to be firm with Singapore which they claimed was always causing problems in relations with Malaysia.

Relations have often been prickly since Singapore was ejected from the Malaysian federation in 1965.

In the latest upset an article in Singapore's Straits Times drew flak when it commented on Malaysia's leadership and described Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as "top dog" of the country.

The expression "dog" is considered insulting in a mainly Moslem country.

Among other contentious issues are water supplies from Malaysia to Singapore, customs, immigration and quarantine arrangements on a railway linking the two countries, withdrawal of pensions of Malaysian workers in Singapore and the use of Malaysian airspace by Singaporean aircraft.

But leaders on both sides have recently sought to play down the disputes. Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said last week he did not believe in "Malaysia-bashing" and saw no benefits in a continuing media war.

Nazri described relations as good on the whole despite occasional problems.