Singapore Comments Called Insulting : In Malaysia, Mistrust 
International Herald Tribune
September 12, 1996
Michael Richardson  

When Singapore was expelled from the Malaysian federation in 1965 for campaigning for racial equality and meritocracy, the action left a legacy of mistrust and misunderstanding that both countries have found hard to dispel.

Relations between Malaysia and Singapore have greatly improved since then, but diplomats said Wednesday that a recent resurgence of tension showed that some of the issues that prompted the split remained and needed to be handled with sensitivity to avoid a deterioration in ties.

With an election looming in Singapore, possibly late this month, relations between the two neighbors were jarred recently by high-level allegations from Malaysia that Singapore's leaders have been using some of the issues of the 1960s as scare tactics to drum up votes at home.

Malaysia formally conveyed its concerns to Singapore on Monday. Earlier, Mahathir bin Mohamad, the prime minister, said that Malaysians felt "insulted" by statements implying that racial harmony and meritocracy existed in Singapore but not in Malaysia.

"They are using us as a bogeyman to frighten the people of Singapore," he said.

Malaysians know that "there is racial discrimination against the Malays" in Singapore because "there are no Malays getting high posts in the armed forces and there are no Malays who can become pilots" in the Singapore Air Force, Mr. Mahathir added.

He was responding to remarks last week by Tony Tan, Singapore's deputy prime minister and defense minister, who said that Singaporeans rejected the idea of a new merger with Malaysia, showing they felt strongly that their country should be a multiracial society with meritocracy as its guiding principle.

The possibility of Singapore's again becoming part of Malaysia was first raised in June by Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's senior minister.

In response to a question at a press dinner, he said that Singapore might rejoin Malaysia if its economy faltered and if Malaysia ended its policy of giving special rights to indigenous races and pursued meritocracy.

As leader of Singapore's ruling People's Action Party, Mr. Lee led the campaign to bring racial equality to Malaysia when the island-state was part of the federation, from 1963 to 1965.

Since then, both countries have adopted similar free-market, pro-business policies to stimulate economic growth, but have pursued radically different social programs to maintain harmony between their main ethnic groups — Malays, Chinese and Indians.

In an unusual form of affirmative action, the Malaysian government has given preference in education, the award of contracts and other areas to indigenous groups, mainly Malays, even though they form a majority of the 19 million population.

Mr. Mahathir and other government leaders argue that the Malays need help to catch up with other Malaysians, particularly Chinese, who were given a head start in the economy under British colonial rule.

While encouraging special assistance for Malays in education, Singapore has maintained a policy of equal treatment for the different ethnic groups in its population of 3 million. Chinese comprise 75 percent of the population.

Goh Chok Tong, the prime minister, said last month that Singapore could be forced to ask Malaysia to take it back, but on Malaysian terms, if Singapore's economy faltered. But he added that a new merger was not on his agenda.

Diplomats said that Mr. Tan's comments last week particularly angered Malaysian leaders, who felt they were clearly part of an election ploy to warn voters that unless they supported government policies they would be swallowed by Malaysia.

The governing party has been in power in Singapore since 1959, but its share of the vote has been declining in the last four general elections, from 75.5 percent in 1980 to just over 59 percent in 1991.

Mr. Tan said that Singaporeans overwhelmingly reject the idea of a re-merger and that this "shows clearly that Singaporeans of all races — Malays, Chinese, Indians and Eurasians — feel strongly that Singapore should continue as an independent nation with a multiracial meritocratic society cooperating with, but not being part of, a larger Malaysia."

He said that Singaporeans "of all classes and races subscribe to the principle that a person's advancement should be determined not by his race, class or parentage but by his performance."

S. Jayakumar, Singapore's foreign minister, said comments by Singaporean leaders on the possibility of a new merger with Malaysia were not intended as criticism of the Malaysian government. He said that the aim was to "educate Singaporeans about our permanent constraints and vulnerabilities and how the country can continue to survive and prosper."

Mr. Goh denied that Singapore discriminated against Malays in the military. "There are Malay officers in the army and Malay pilots," he said, but this was not highlighted "because they are Singaporean."

Copyright © 2006 The International Herald Tribune