Proposal to broaden racial ties in Singapore

SINGAPORE has been urged to set up a special agency to broaden racial ties following controversial remarks by elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew that dismayed some of the island state's Malays.

Yatiman Yusof, a senior Malay government parliamentary secretary, proposed in parliament Tuesday that the agency should be set up in Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's office to study ways to bring races together.

His proposal came amid debate here over Senior Minister Lee's statement last month on the loyalty of Malay soldiers in predominantly-Chinese Singapore.

Lee, who was prime minister for about 30 years before retiring in 1990, told a forum here the background of Malay military officers had to be checked before they could be put in charge of a machine gun unit.

He said it would be tricky for the Singapore Armed Forces to appoint a Malay officer, who is very religious and has family ties in Malaysia, to lead such a unit.

Singapore gained independence from Malay-majority Malaysia in 1965. Leaders in Malaysia as well as in Singapore's larger neighbour Indonesia have in the past accused the island state of discriminating against the minority Malays.

Lee's remarks, an off-the-cuff reply to a question from the audience at the forum, dismayed some Malay groups in Singapore which have sought a dialogue with the leader.