Syed Hamid Albar Strikes Again

Atobe SG

Syed Hamid criticises Singapore book on water talks, 3 months after release

By Walter Fernandez

After a lull of several months, Kuala Lumpur has started a war of words over water again.

Malaysia has accused Singapore of injecting fiction into its account of the water talks.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was referring to a book published back in March.

The book sets out Singapore's position on the issue and is largely a compilation of Singapore's Foreign Minister S Jayakumar's statement to Parliament in January as well as the documents and diplomatic correspondence made public at that sitting.

According to Bernama, Syed Hamid described the release of the book, whose contents were online since January, as underhanded and warned it could mar ties.

So the Malaysian government is coming up with its own publication on the dispute to dispel what Syed Hamid called the "the half-truths and the misleading statements."

The pathetic Syed Hamid Albar can join "Comical Ali" from Sadam's clique, once his PM retires and the new Malaysian PM Badawi abandon him.

Source:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/43417/1/.html

CX SG

no kidding... when i saw the clown on CNA, i was like: u mean it took u so long to come to a conclusion?

3 months to make a feeble response is pathetic... it would've made more of an impact if it had been sooner... hmmm... quite strange cos the book was published in both english AND malay... u mean they can't read either languages properly? Mr. Green OH... they can't read!!! Twisted Evil

quite obviously got another agenda... probably domestic. dr. M has delivered his farewell speech, the transition is still not complete... he probably wants to make some noise, make himself visible so that the PM designate would think that he's doing some work...

Sg slamming always goes down well with the public...

but seriously... it would be good to see what they can come up with. always a good idea to read both sides of the story. publishing such papers probably won't solve the water problem between Sg and M'sia, but it will leave behind a treasure throve of info for researchers and historians Mr. Green

some good has come out of it after all...

chaar123 SG

Malaysia has accused Singapore of injecting fiction into its account of the water talks.

Is fiction a new kind of dealy chemical ah? Like anthrax? How can Malaysia accuse us of posioning their water leh when it is theywho supply haha!

IAF SG

Here we go again.... Mad

duotiga83 SG

well things nvr change..... Rolling Eyes

foga SG

some how but can’t help but feel something “big” is gonna happen in malaysia soon…... elections? orn is it because of their MCA chief thingy???

laser51088 SG

Hehheh, at least we know one thing:

M'sia has finished reading Sg's Book!!! yaaaay. . .

And if they wanna make claim's like Singapore is making 'half-truths'. then at least state which are the half-truths so that we the political conscious lot of sgforums can do our research. . . otherwise very difficult to believe anything they say also.

luckily that guy is minister of foreign affairs only, if he minister of defence got war liao...

nismoS132 SG

1st they'll declare war on us, then he'll say we declared war 1st, then later he'll say singapore is a rebel province of malaysia which they are just trying to reclaim back Laughing

foga SG

http://app.sgmy.gov.sg/Articles/100175.Html

CX SG

So, which is the real Malaysian Foreign Minister? Does he really want the relationship to mend?

It may not be in his hands, if a commentary written some years back by Mr Abdullah Ahmad, Malaysias special envoy to the United Nations, is any guide.

Mr Abdullah, a personal friend of Mr Syed Hamids, had argued: "The Malaysian foreign policy has always reflected the personality of the prime minister ... A Malaysian foreign minister, like all his counterparts, has never had much influence over policy decisions."

That could explain why the London-educated Mr Syed Hamid sometimes changes his tone.

an excerpt from the article posted above...

i would argue that there's no such things as an "independent" foreign policy for any country. foreign policy is always an extension of the personalities of the politicians and domestic politics.

lets hope that the new PM would be in a better position to shape domestic sentiments to support a more mellow and reasonable foreign policy.

Atobe SG

It is hard to imagine any significant changes happening under the current leadership. Dr Mahathir is renowned to be a headstrong and stubborn leader, and is likely to continue playing hardball with Singapore throughout the rest of his tenure.

This has led some to believe that a change will come only when he steps down in October, when his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, takes over.

Although it is still too early yet to tell what kind of prime minister Mr Badawi will be, he is widely considered a kinder, gentler leader who disdains confrontation. Still, many political observers say there will be great pressure on him to stand tough against Singapore.

``Badawi is definitely more accommodating than Mahathir, and personally I think he will try to tone things down a bit,'' former MP Mr Wong said. ``But don't forget, he's a politician first and foremost.''

This is a point echoed by academic-turned-opposition politician Rustam Sani, who has known Mr Badawi since the 1960s. ``As a person he's a nice guy, but if he has to take a hard stance [against Singapore] to win political points, I think he will do it.''

Whether Mr Badawi is the man to create a better environment for solving bilateral issues is yet to be seen, but it is obvious the key lies with the approach.

``What it takes is statesmanship from both sides,'' Mr Chandra said, ``not just good political leadership but true statesmanship.''

http://www.singapore-window.org/sw03/030121bp.htm

The above article was taken from the archive of the SingaporeWindow, for further readings on the historical dispute between Malaysia and Singapore visit:

http://www.singapore-window.org/malaysia.htm