The following is the news item extracted from Channel NewsAsia.
Reading the apology note from LKY to Badawi, it raises additional
questions as to the direction taken by LKY in his speech at the
symposium.
MM Lee says
sorry that recent comments caused discomfort to PM
Abdullah
By Farah Abdul
Rahim, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 October 2006 2204
hrs
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew says he is sorry that his recent
comments about Chinese Malaysians had caused Malaysia's Prime
Minister Abdullah Badawi a great deal of discomfort.
Mr Lee had said during an international forum in Singapore more
than two weeks ago that ethnic Chinese minorities in Malaysia and
Indonesia are being marginalised.
In his letter to Mr Abdullah, Mr Lee said he had no intention to
meddle in Malaysian politics.
Nor does he have the power to influence Malaysia's politics or to
incite the feelings of Chinese in the country.
The remarks about Malaysia's ethnic Chinese minority were made at
what Mr Lee called a 'free flowing dialogue session' with former US
Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
Setting the context, Mr
Lee explained he was speaking to a liberal audience of Westerners
who wanted to see a stronger opposition in
Singapore.
He reiterated that Singapore needs a
strong government to maintain good relations with neighbours
Indonesia and Malaysia and to interact with their politicians who
consider Singapore to be 'Chinese'.
Mr Lee said he did not say anything more than what he had said many
times before, and added he said less than what he had written in
his 1998 memoirs.
Mr Lee said UMNO leaders, including former Prime Minister Dr
Mahathir Mohamed and others, had on numerous occasions, publicly
warned Malaysian Malays that if they ever lose power, they risk the
same fate as Malays in Singapore, whom they allege are marginalised
and discriminated against.
Mr Lee cited examples of such comments in the letter's annex,
quoting Dr Mahathir and other leaders in media reports over the
years about the "marginalisation" of Singapore Malays.
The Minister Mentor reiterated that Singapore understands the
reality of Malaysian politics.
Singapore has never protested at such attacks on Singapore's
multi-racial system or policies but merely clarified Singapore's
position and explained to Singaporeans the root cause of such
difficulties in bilateral relations.
Also in his letter, the Minister Mentor said relations between the
2 countries have improved since Mr Abdullah took the helm in
November 2003 and that both Singaporeans and Malaysians appreciate
this.
Mr Lee concluded that the last thing he wanted to do, after a
decade of troubled relations with the former Prime Minister, was to
cause Mr Abdullah a great deal of discomfort. -
CNA/ch
While the historical contents is
accurate concerning the interference by Malaysian Political Leaders
and Politicians in the internal politics of Singapore, it does not
provide Singaporeans with any satisfactory answer as to how did
this fiasco developed and requiring him to back down with an
uncharacteristic apology.
What relevance has his reply to "... a liberal audience of Westerners who
wanted to see a stronger
opposition in Singapore
" got to do with his perception "that Singapore needs a strong government to
maintain good relations with neighbours Indonesia and Malaysia and
to interact with their politicians who consider Singapore to be
'Chinese' " ?
Does a stronger opposition in Singapore make for a weaker Singapore
Government in handling the bilateral relations with our neighbors
?
It seems that in his attempt to befuddle the foreigners calling for
a stronger
opposition in Singapore, LKY had side-stepped
obliquely into a 'Out-of-Bounds Area'
of nipping at our neighbors, and done so without any careful
consideration.
Age is certainly catching up in an otherwise sharp mind, do we need
to think of any better reason for him to engage our tertiary level
students, who has less political foundation ?
On Tuesday morning, the Malaysian Press will have a field day
printing the contents of his letter of apology, and making snide
remarks - unless Badawi will step in to soften the matter further
with his characterisitic gentle ways, reaffirming his philosophy of
being a 'Progressive
Muslim'.
