Kuan Yew says happy to rejoin Malaysia
if...
SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Bernama) - Some 10 years after remarking that
Singapore might
rejoin Malaysia if the island state's economy faltered and if
Malaysia pursued meritocracy, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has
again spoken on the subject.
"They have got all the resources. If they would just educate the
Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens,
they can equal us and even do better than us and we would be happy
to rejoin them," Lee said.
Lee made the remark in an interview on Sept 27 with syndicated
columnist Tom Plate of the UCLA Media Center and new-media expert
Jeffrey Cole of the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital
Future.
The transcript of the interview is available online on the UCLA
Asia Institute website.
In June 1996, Lee spoke about the possibility of Singapore
rejoining Malaysia, raising a storm on both sides of the Causeway
with then Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir
Mohamad saying that he did not think that
the time had come for that yet.
Dr Mahathir had also described the remark as just a means "to
jolt Singaporeans" into their senses.
- MORE
The latest remarks by the Singapore founding father came after he
was asked about Singapore's "sense of endangerment" and why the island state was
worried about survivability in the long run.
Lee replied: "Where are we? Are we in the Caribbean? Are we next
to America like the Bahamas? Are we in the Mediterranean, like
Malta, next to Italy? Are we like Hong Kong, next to China and
therefore, will become part of China?
"We are in Southeast Asia, in the midst of a turbulent,
volatile, unsettled region. Singapore is a superstructure built on
what? On 700 square kilometres and a lot of smart ideas that have
worked so far - but the whole thing could come undone very
quickly".
To a question on who would come after Singapore, Lee replied:
"When (Malaysia) kicked us out (in 1965), the expectation was that
we would fail and we will go back on their terms, not on the terms
we agreed with them under the British.
"Our problems are not just between states, this is a problem
between races and religions and civilizations.
- MORE
"We are a standing indictment of all the things that they can be
doing differently. They have got all the resources. If they would just educate
the Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens,
they can equal us and even do better than us and we would be happy
to rejoin them," he said.
Analysts here
do not see any possibility of a Malaysia-Singapore
merger.
"The chances of a re-merger in 1996 and in 2007 are the same -
zero," said Dr Ooi Kee Beng, coordinator of the Malaysia study
programme at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and
best-selling author of 'The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and
His Time'.
"The very idea
of a re-merger on Singapore's terms is appalling to most Malays (in
Malaysia) and any move in that direction would be political suicide
for a Malaysian politician to take," Dr Ooi told Today
newspaper.
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Story/A1Story20071011-29532.html
STFU You fool.
Who are you?
You are just a dog.
A dog is always a dog.
You made stupid topics which become more and more
stupid.
Stupid dog.
You must really despise the old dog.
You are now my comrade, since we share same views.
