And within days, Umno Youth's emotionalism would have been matched by a flurry of angry letters to The Straits Times and outraged statements from grassroots leaders in Geylang and Ang Mo Kio.

This time around, the only sound is the baying of the international media, no doubt dismayed by an uncustomary display of equanimity on the part of the Malaysian political class.

Have the two sides finally grown up? Has maturity and commonsense triumphed over the bigotry and stupidity? Well, yes and no.

Three points: I have three key points to make. The first is the emotional undercurrent to the senior minister's trip. The second and third are intertwined and concern the two major changes in the Malaysian political landscape: the increasing role of conservative Islam and the weakening hold of the traditional feudal elite on the political process. As these trends develop, bilateral relations will alter forever.

Certainly, Mr Lee's recent trip to Malaysia -- a valedictory tour -- was designed to be as non-confrontational as possible. His public lecture, for example, was deliberately anodyne. The Malaysian establishment turned out in force to show respect to a great post-War leader, and -- to my surprise -- fond regard, as well. While he fluffed answers and ducked questions in a most un-LKY-like fashion, the emotional connection was there for all to see and feel.

Confirmed cynics: However, for confirmed cynics such as myself, his performance revealed the true nature of the visit: Build bonds, don't break them. Similarly, an embattled Dr Mahathir preferred to smooth over differences rather than accentuate them.

After the debacle of the SingTel bid for Time dotCom, I detect in both men a realisation that as the region continues to flounder, Singapore and Malaysia have to work together in order to survive. In short, outstanding issues must be resolved and deals concluded.

However, it is also important to stress once again the historical and emotional aspect of the trip. After 10 long years, the senior minister has finally crossed the Causeway, revisiting the scene of his greatest failure: Malaysia. The fact that he did drive across the brackish water that divides Singapore from Johor marks an enormous step forward both for him and the entire city-state, because without his lead, the wound that is Separation will never be healed.

Stopping briefly at A'Famosa, a resort just outside Melaka, Mr Lee's journey was as much a foray back in time (reminding him of the days when Singapore was a part of Malaysia) as well as an education in the reality of modern Malaysia. Arriving in Kuala Lumpur, I would imagine he must have been pleasantly surprised by the scale of the city's development. Notwithstanding the changes to the skyline, KL remains at heart a "company town", an Umno town -- at least for the time being -- a place where the past is always present.

The upper ranks of Umno are still peppered with names that are now more redolent of history than current affairs. Meeting Syed Hamid, son of Syed Albar; Najib Razak, son of Tun Razak; and Hishammuddin Hussein, son of Hussein Onn, it is all too easy to become seduced by the false allure of dynasty.

The reality is very different and while an emotional tour, touching base with old friends, is rewarding on a personal level, it would be unwise to take the familiarity and calm for granted. The modern, progressive and multi-racial elite that have run Malaysia for the past 43 years is facing its biggest challenge. The circle of power and influence has widened immeasurably, opening up competing sources of authority such as PAS-inclined ulamak. Judging from his comments at the open forum about the madrasah/education system in Singapore, Mr Lee is well aware of the potential pitfalls that accompany the melding of politics, governance and religion.

Umno, and the Barisan Nasional in particular, must grapple with the intricacies of the three and present a workable solution. However, the ideological battles that are being fought every day in ceramahs up and down the peninsula will in time be resolved, and when that happens, the nation's attention will turn outwards.

Conservative Islam is here to stay. As a result, Singapore (as with Thailand and the Philippines with their sizeable Muslim populations) will not be spared in the long run. A wealthy and empowered theocracy will not necessarily respect the basic tenets of international relations and diplomacy. Issues of sovereignty will appear nugatory in the face of perceived injustice and mistreatment of a Muslim minority.

How will the increasingly powerful ulamak view Singapore? It is unlikely that Islamic chauvinism will be any easier to deal with than Malay chauvinism. Delivering in terms of political and socio-economic benefits is far easier than spiritual and/or theological, and a nation as secular as Singapore will be faced with an enormous challenge in this respect. Unlike Indonesia, where reform and renewal is inevitably accompanied by bloodshed and uproar, change manifests itself very slowly in Malaysia.

For a start, Malaysia is becoming less and less a top-down, dirigiste society. The split in the Malay community -- caused by the handling of Anwar Ibrahim -- is deep and deepening, challenging Umno as it seeks to reinvent itself.

An indication of this trend is the appointment of a political novice and Umno Youth Exco member, Mohd Khir Toyo, to the post of Mentri Besar of Selangor. Making much of the ordinariness of the man's background, the leading Malay language newspaper Utusan Malaysia even went so far as to call him budak sampah, in reference to the fact that he used to earn money by collecting old newspapers.

And it is this pre-occupation with the internal dynamics of the Muslim Malaysia and the twin challenges of credibility and legitimacy, stemming from last year's election and the Sauk incident, that has resulted in Umno's domestic focus. In order to survive as the sole party of the Malays, Umno is battling for the community's soul.

In this context, relations with Singapore are secondary. Moreover, part of the reason the senior minister's comments did not elicit a firestorm of controversy is -- quite simply -- the fact that the tentacles of Umno's authority have receded. Dealing with party luminaries in Kuala Lumpur, or wining and dining with the party faithful, will not give you much of an idea of the sentiment on the "ground" because the "ground" has become more truculent, disbelieving and querulous.

The top-down, quasi-feudal Umno political machinery has spluttered to an untimely halt while the party members undergo a re-engineering. And while the inability of the centre to dictate reactions at the periphery are certainly a sign of increasing democratisation in Malaysia, the lack of control and greater freedom of action will in the end make the bilateral relations far more complicated and their management far less simple. So while Singapore and the senior minister can enjoy a respite in their relations with Malaysia, the future will demand a more complex and subtle engagement.