Singapore’s Disdain Exposed

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Singapore’s Disdain Exposed

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By Mergawati Zulfakar

SINGAPORE’S most senior Foreign Ministry official Bilahari Kausikan is heading for Kuala Lumpur on December 22 as a leader of a delegation to discuss KTM Berhad’s land swap deal in Singapore agreed in May by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.

This is the fifth round and possibly the last meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Imple­mentation Team (MSJIT) between officials of both countries, each side with about 20 people representing various ministries and agencies.

After the last meeting two weeks ago, a short one-paragraph joint statement was issued describing the meeting as one held in a cordial atmosphere. Come December 22, the atmosphere will definitely be awkward, at least to some officials. Simple analogy – imagine sitting with someone that you know who has been bad-mouthing you to others. How would you feel?

Now, how about sitting down to a meeting with the very man who claimed, among others, that Malaysia was “confused and dangerous, fueled by the distinct possibility of racial conflict”?

Not only that, Kausikan said back in September 2008 that “a lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia”. Courtesy of WikiLeaks and not exactly denied by his boss, Foreign Minister George Yeo, Kausikan’s remarks are riling up officials in Putrajaya.

“His remarks are crude and smack of arrogance. It is not just what he has said but how he said it. It shows his sentiment for us.Every time there is an MSJIT meeting, the host country will host lunch and dinner. It is going to be an awkward situation for us”, said one government official.

Kausikan’s predecessor Peter Ho has also made damaging remarks on Malaysia, along with the ministry’s Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh whose views of Japan and India were damaging.

“Fat losers, stupid, bad leadership” are some adjectives that had been used by Singaporean diplomats to describe their neighbours. Yeo, in an immediate attempt to play down reports, defended his officials, saying their comments were taken out of context and were interpretations of views reflected by American officials.

The comments, which Yeo described as “cocktail talk”, were confidential and should not have been released. Yeo said his ministry would not check the veracity of the remarks, nor comment on what could have gone on in an informal and confidential setting.

It is normal for diplomats to get information from others during cocktails. What is surprising, though, is that the information gathered from the Singaporeans merit attention from the Americans.

“I am sure how it was said by the Singapore diplomats and the sentiment that it merits attention,” said an official. For those who have dealt with Singapore, nothing has changed.

The general feeling among officials is that their Singapore counterparts do have condescending traits. WikiLeaks exposés in the past weeks have caused embarrassment to diplomats and government officials around the world.

This week, it is Singapore’s turn. There are thousands of documents yet to be made public by WikiLeaks and who knows if Malaysia would be next, as we are never short of politicians who may not be able to keep their mouths shut.

As Yeo said, he did not think relations with the countries will be affected.True, but as the closest neighbour with supposedly warm ties, Singapore would do well to show some kind of regret over the remarks made by its officials.

If it had been Singapore at the end of the stick, they would not stop until they get what they want. No doubt, Malaysia will now need to be more alert when dealing with Singapore.

During next week’s meeting, officials will need to remain professional when they meet Kausikan. They have to stick to the agenda as there are objectives to be met since the leaders have given officials until end of the year to iron out details of the KTM land swap deal and other related projects.

The days of being emotional are long gone. It is time to think strategically for the long term and best interest of Malaysia.