Malaysian PM

silkmagic SG

Wonder when Mr M will step down as the Prime Minister of Malaysia and how will the new PM handle Singapore.

No flaming please. Just discuss and give your opinion.

CloneMe72 SG

No bars hold?

silkmagic SG

No holds bar. Feel free to comment

[G]oggles SG

Their foreign policy with SG will be the same

Spear SG

Maybe will improve for better? Heard that the new PM last time held a post which put him closer with S'pore leh...

< Question >

CloneMe72 SG

No bars hold meaning the new PM will trash Spore when he feel like it and then change his mind about it after discussing with his cabinet.

CX SG

NO WAY!!! the only thing keeping them in their place is our military deterrance!

already they're messing with us every now and then... cutting water supply, irritating pimple, making veiled threats and making it seem as if Sg's independence is temporary and we'll return to their "generous" embrace sooner or later Evil or Very Mad

once we let down our guard, they're gonna do what indonesia did to east timor back then Exclamation

i say if there's gonna be a re-merger, they join us on OUR TERMS

we can either fight and save ourselves or sit around, get abused and wait for a UN commission to come do a comprehensive study, take it back to geneva for a series of talks, argue about who to send to the Hague for war crimes, pass a resolution to work towards resolving the problem, let the issue hang for a few more years but which time, we'll all be dead!

NO DEFENCE CUTS!!! whoever the PM is across the causeway, WE CAN'T TRUST THEM Evil or Very Mad

NDU SG

Mr. Green fully agree with u!!!!

Gun SG

Actually, Malaysian did attempt to use its military and race issues to
threaten Singapore's independace which was only a few days old !
In LKY's memo in Building an army from scratch

SINGAPORE'S DEFENCE
Mr Lee Kuan Yew attended the ceremonial opening of the new
Singapore Parliament in December 1965, "escorted'' by Malaysian
army outriders. Three months later, in February 1966, a riot broke
out at an army training depot in Shenton Way among the soldiers
of different races. That month, a Malaysian battalion occupying
Singapore barracks refused to move out to make way for a
returning Singapore battalion.

No wander SAF is what it is today now. Very Happy

LeFire SG

Shocked

No! Never! Neg! Nyet! No way in hell!

We must never let our guard down... The easiest way to kill a powerful military is to cut off its funding, as opposed to defeating it in war. Lose our military strength, and our "friendly" neighbours would start getting a little frisky... by then, it'll be too late for us!

want to know SG

Why the Israelis are willing to help Singapore? What is the reason? Is there any secret deal?

silkmagic SG

They might treat us harsher as Dr M is a strongman in Malaysia and therefore will be able to control those who are jealous of Singapore. But with the new guy, he might have to give in to their demand.

want to know SG

Forgive me for being so ignorant. But why make friend with a tiny little red dot. Back then Singapore was a third world country. There is no benefits in helping Singapore. Are the Israelis are that desperate for friends? How reliable are the Israelis as ally and as a friend?

Gun SG

Read a little more. The Internet is here for you.
According to LKY's memomair, Malaysia was naturally the 1st
option to ask for military training assistance. But having found
them untrustworthy and with an inert Malay-dominated military,
Singapore choosed otherwise.

And so the then Defence Minister , Goh Keng Swee went looking
for help elsewhere:

1) He contacted Mordecai Kidron, the Israeli ambassador in Bangkok, for help, who flew in from Bangkok to offer assistance in military training. LKY put this offer on hold until he get reply
from (2) and (3).

2) Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Prime Minister of India, and

3) President Nasser of Egypt

Last two were officially requested by LKY in letters seeking their
urgent help to build up Singapore armed forces.
None of them offered assistance.
Yes, maybe you are right, Singapore was just another pre-maturely
forced delivered poor, small 3rd world country with a 35 yr old
leader. Who cares anyway ?

But so was Isreal after having fought at least 2 major wars against
several of her larger Arab neighbours. Anyone would be impressed
with its military credentials and effectiveness shown in her short
history of nationhood.

And as of why was Israeli assistance kept secret then ?
Well, we know not just about religion sensitivity towards Muslims in
this region, but also LKY's worry of anti-independent Singapore
Malaysians like Syed Ja'afar Albar "might persuade military
officers like Brigadier Alsagoff to reverse separation. " -
Hence a risk of possible military aggression from certain
segments within Malaya to force Singapore back into
the federation.

NathanG5 SG

yea..we just a 3rd world little red dot(now rich little red dot)back den....y Israel help..im not sure too..maybe we r somewat similar like wat they have gone thru...at least we have a little red dot..there wasnt even such a country call Israel before 1907....how reliable r the Israelis? we r still on quite a close military relationship wif them..for wat motive they have..i dun care..cos at least they help us..rite?

read up "The Sword and the Olive"by Martin Van Creveld to understand more abt the IDF.

herm SG

It is always better to have one more fren than a foe. But then again in the political field, who is your friend and who is your foe, for a fren might turn out to your foe in the end... we've got to be careful, i have to agree with some of you that we should never be off our guard... and we have to be resilience too... in case we meet with any mishap Shocked

CX SG

this "little red dot" analogy is actually quite a recent label... habibie wasn't it???

Sg has always commanded influence and importance beyond its actual geographic size. i think the reason why locals think of themselves as a "little red dot" is part self-deprecating humour and part political conditioning... PAP is always eager to make the people feel vulnerable so that we'll always have a slightly war-like edge that can be easily mobilized should the occassion arise.

under the Brits, Sg was the administrative HQ of the straits settlements and as a crown colony, it was administered directly under the colonial office. direct rule in those days were reserved for places that had strategic importance.

when the japanese came, they supported collaborative regimes all over: in southern china, manchuria, the philipines, burma and indonesia. Singapore was administered directly by the military becase of its strategic location and because they didn't have anyone to trust here... too chinese.

although LKY is always harping about how island nations are political jokes, he would be the first to admit that Sg has commandered importance totally out of proportion to its size.

hence, it is not totally inconceivable that Israel would want to help us. Sg was important historically, it was likely to remain so because of its location and it was surrounded by people not too friendly with Israel.

of course it suited their interest to gain an influence here.

part of it was plain political charity, but a large part of it was quid pro quo as well. they would fully expect us to be on their side after they came in.

have u ever heard Sg say anything about how Israel treats the palestinians? Mr. Green

besides, the israelis have no real friends. only very real interests. as long as its a mutually beneficial relationship, they'll like u. so they're ok people to have around... its a much more stable relationship than the americans.

there are still a sizeable number of israeli "defence contractors" around doing some really funky stuff...

and one significant benefit of working with israelis is that u would not likely find the malaysians using the same stuff as us Mr. Green

i'll laugh myself silly the day they buy the same weapons the israelis built to whack their muslim cousins in the mid-east.

talk_cock SG

Right.There are many Datuks who wield significant influence, even Dr M must show them respect. If the new guy cannot control them, they may engage in petty arguments. Of course, a most effective way to unite them is to engage in "S'pore-bashing", which is a card they often play as of now. In the future...???

Then again, Dr M may not step down so soon -- remember Anwar? His successor to be was destroyed by him. Anyway, it remains to be seen if Dr M is really stepping down or is just a "wayang" play.