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MALAYSIA'S ''dangerous'' decline is fuelled by incompetent
politicians, Thailand is dogged by corruption and a ''very
erratic'' crown prince, Japan is a ''big fat loser'' and India is
''stupid''.
So say some of Singapore's highest-ranking officials, according
to leaked US State Department cables that are likely to spark
intense political controversy in the region.
The cables, leaked exclusively to The Sunday Age by
WikiLeaks, detail the content of separate meetings between senior
US officials and Singapore's foreign affairs chiefs Peter Ho,
Bilahari Kausikan and Tommy Koh.
The trio, who at the time of the 2008 and 2009 cables occupied
some of the most senior positions in Singapore's Foreign Affairs
Ministry, all give US officials damning assessments of
Malaysia.
According to one cable detailing a meeting in September 2008, Mr
Kausikan told US Deputy Secretary of Defence for East Asia David
Sedney that ''the situation in neighbouring Malaysia is confused
and dangerous'', fuelled by a ''distinct possibility of racial
conflict'' that could see ethnic Chinese ''flee'' Malaysia and
''overwhelm'' Singapore.
''A lack of competent leadership is a real problem for
Malaysia,'' Mr Kausikan said, citing the need for Najib Razak - now
Malaysia's Prime Minister - to ''prevail politically in order to
avoid prosecution'' in connection with a 2006 murder investigation
linked to one of Mr Razak's aides.
''Najib Razak has his neck on the line in connection with a
high-profile murder case,'' Mr Kausikan said.
Mr Ho's March 2008 assessment of Malaysia, given to another US
official, is also unflattering, and includes claims that former
prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been ''throwing stones'' at his
replacement, Abdullah Badawi.
''The political knives will be out for Abdullah's son-in-law,
United Malays National Organisation politician Khairy Jamaluddin,
whom nobody likes because he got where he is through family ties,''
the cable records Mr Ho saying. ''As for … Najib Razak, he is an
opportunist. Although he has not been critical of Singapore, he
will not hesitate to go in that direction if it is expedient for
him to do so. Najib's political fortunes continue to be haunted by
the … murder scandal.''
In his September 2008 meeting with Mr Sedney, Mr Kausikan
savages Thailand's political elite, labelling Thaksin Shinawatra as
''corrupt'' along with ''everyone else, including the
opposition''.
Mr Kausikan is also critical of Thaksin's relationship with the
Thai crown prince, stating that Thaksin ''made a mistake in
pursuing a relationship with the crown prince by paying off the
crown prince's gambling debts''.
''Kausikan said the crown prince was 'very erratic, and easily
subject to influence','' the cable states, while also saying that
Mr Kausikan warned of continued instability in Thailand.
In a September 2009 meeting with US officials, senior
Singaporean foreign affairs official Tommy Koh savages Japan and
India in relation to the impact on both countries of China's
increasing regional might.
''Koh described Japan as 'the big fat loser' in the context of
improving ties between China and ASEAN. He attributed the relative
decline of Japan's stature in the region to Japan's 'stupidity, bad
leadership, and lack of vision','' the cable says.
''He was equally merciless towards India, describing his 'stupid
Indian friends' as 'half in, half out' of ASEAN.''
Other notable comments about regional affairs made by Mr
Kausikan in September 2008 include his reported claims that:
■ Burma's neighbours, including China and India, are ''more
concerned with stability than justice'' and they feared the Burmese
junta's demise could produce ''an Asian reprise of the breakup of
Yugoslavia''.
■ He would be ''more comfortable with a nuclear-capable North
Korea, than a nuclear-capable Iran''.
■ Russia's economy is ''Third World'', its health system a
shambles and its demographic challenges almost insurmountable.
Mr Koh is recorded praising China's ''investment and
intelligent diplomacy in the region''.
''I don't fear
China. I don't fear being assimilated by China,'' the cable
states that Mr Koh said, while he pointed to China's decision to
invest in Africa ''without lecturing them about human rights and
democracy as the West does''.
- Sydney Morning Herald
