Umno drubs LKY for attacking Dr M
Malaysiakini
Oct  3, 2006
Bede Hong

Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan is ‘fishing in troubled waters’, warned Umno information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib today.

Muhammad said while Umno accepted Lee’s apology for saying the Chinese in Malaysia are marginalised, he should not have dragged former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad into the issue.

It was not appropriate for Lee to link the issue to the sour bilateral ties with Malaysia and Malaysian leaders, particularly Mahathir, he added.

"Lee's action in highlighting the decade of troubled relations with the former prime minister gives the impression that Malaysian leaders, Umno leaders and the Malays like to create problems.

"This is an insult, and the remarks should not have been made by a leader from a neighbouring country," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Withdraw statement

Muhammad described Lee's comments by dragging Mahathir into the issue, as "fishing in troubled waters" based on the political climate in Malaysia.

The former Singapore premier should realise that the problems he faced was due to his own baseless allegations, he added

He said Lee should withdraw his controversial statement and admit his mistakes, instead of saying sorry but yet continue his provocative attack on Mahathir.

Following reports of Lee’s controversial remark about the Chinese in Malaysia and Indonesia, Mahathir had called him ‘arrogant and not so clever’.

In his letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Lee stood by his remark but apologised for having caused ‘discomfort’ to the premier.

“Since you (Abdullah) took over as prime minister, relations between our two countries have much improved. Singaporeans and, I believe, Malaysians too, appreciate this.

“I am sorry what I said has caused you a great deal of discomfort. After a decade of troubled relations with your predecessor, it is the last thing I wanted,” Lee said.

However, Abdullah said he is unimpressed with the qualified apology.

Apology accepted

Meanwhile, the Barisan Nasional Youth today also accepted Lee's apology for the discomfort caused by his comments.

BN Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also the Umno Youth chief, said it was not easy for Lee to apologise.

"We accept the apology, especially when it came from somebody who is very wise," he told reporters.

Hishammuddin said he was surprised by Lee's move in apologising as he did not expect the 83-year-old statesman to do so.

Malaysia had only sought clarification from Lee over his remarks and did not demand any apology from him.

In a related development, Umno vice-president Mohamed Ali Rustam said as a veteran leader, Lee should be more sensitive and have respect for the sensitivities of the people and leaders in a neighbouring country by not making provocative statements.

He said the matter should not have happened and should be a lesson so that the good relations which Malaysia and Singapore had enjoyed would not be affected by statements which could hurt the feelings of any quarters.

"The question of apologising does not arise if the minister mentor did not make such statements which had hurt the feelings of the people and leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia," he said.