It said that in recent weeks, there was a surge in postings by netters from Malaysia and Singapore on its discussion forum reacting to such talk, "with the tone of netters becoming unusually sharp."

The Young PAP said that its moderators kept a regular watch and removed the more provocative postings to prevent any escalation of emotions among netters from both sides of the Causeway, and had to remove more than 200 such postings in the past 48 hours alone.

"However, given the open nature of Internet discussion forums, opinions can be posted by anyone at anytime from anywhere in the world.

There is a limit to how closely our moderators can monitor postings. Therefore a few strongly worded postings slipped through," it said in a statement Wednesday.

But the Young PAP pointed back its finger at Malaysian politicians and media, "given the loose talk of war in Malaysia as repeatedly reported in their media in recent weeks."

It alleged that their (Malaysian) statements had not only whipped up 'anti-Singapore' sentiments in Malaysia, but also inevitably led to a counter reaction and an 'anti-Malaysia' sentiment among some of the young Singaporeans.

In a strongly worded statement, the Young PAP asked the Malaysian side to cease making further groundless accusations against them.

"The Young PAP is deeply concerned that if this 'anti-neighbour' sentiment were to persist on both sides of the Causeway, it would irreparably damage the close ties between our two peoples."

It also supported the call for the two governments to resolve disputes between the two nations in a peaceful and amicable manner as two equal sovereign states.

-- BERNAMA

                                                            Home