Maid issue tests ASEAN unity<\/p>\n
By Dewi Fortuna Anwar<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Well-wishers of ASEAN must be watching the
\nescalating tension between Singapore and the Philippines, sparked
\nby the hanging of Flor Contemplacion, with growing concern if not
\nalarm.<\/p>\n
It is indeed ironic that at a time when ASEAN is celebrating
\nits expansion, with Vietnam scheduled to become a full member
\nnext July, a crisis between two founding members may threaten
\nbilateral relations.<\/p>\n
President Ramos threatened to sever diplomatic ties with
\nSingapore if it is found that the executed Filipino maid was
\ninnocent of the crime of which she was accused. Although this
\nthreat may turn out to be an idle one, made at a time of hurt
\nnational pride and anguish, the fact that it was made at all
\nclearly shows the seriousness of the situation.<\/p>\n
Bilateral crises are of course not new among the ASEAN members
\nand though they occur from time to time, ASEAN has continued to
\nflourish and regional harmony has more or less been maintained.<\/p>\n
In the past the presence of ASEAN has served to contain intra-
\nregional conflicts. ASEAN members that find themselves in
\nconflict have mostly shown restraint so as not to exacerbate the
\nsituation and endanger ASEAN unity.<\/p>\n
Since 1968 no bilateral differences have been allowed to
\nthreaten bilateral relations or affect the functioning of ASEAN,
\nuntil this crisis in Philippines-Singapore relations.<\/p>\n
The execution of Flor Contemplacion by the Singapore
\ngovernment on March 17, 1995, has some similarities to the
\nexecution of two Indonesian marines by the same government in
\n1968, and the execution of an Indonesian national, Basri Mase, by
\nan East Malaysian court in 1991.<\/p>\n
A few months after ASEAN was founded the Singapore government
\ncarried out the execution of two Indonesian marines who had been
\narrested and sentenced to death for sabotage during the
\nconfrontation period.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto sent a personal letter to Prime Minister
\nLee Kuan Yew asking for the death sentence to be commuted, in
\nview of the new friendly ties between Indonesia and Singapore,
\nand the fact that the marines had only carried out the order of
\nthe earlier and now discredited government.<\/p>\n
The Singapore leader, however, stated that he could not
\ninterfere with the judicial process and the execution was carried
\nout.<\/p>\n
Given that Indonesia was just ending its confrontation with
\nMalaysia and Singapore, and nationalist fervor barely had time to
\ncool down, it was not surprising that there was a major public
\noutcry against Singapore.<\/p>\n
The dead marines were received home as national heroes and
\ngiven a hero's burial. Many urged the government to take action
\nagainst Singapore, including members of Parliament and a few hot-
\nheaded generals who advocated the bombing of Singapore. President
\nSoeharto himself was reported to have been deeply offended, for
\nhe lost a lot of face when his request was turned down by the
\nSingapore leader.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, despite the great outpouring of nationalistic
\nsentiment and the anger of the Indonesian leaders against
\nSingapore, the Indonesian government as a whole behaved with
\nrestraint. The foreign minister told both the Parliament and the
\npublic to remain calm. Although Jakarta remained cool towards
\nSingapore for about four years, there was never any threat of
\nsevering bilateral ties. Relations, however, were only fully
\nrestored after Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited Jakarta and
\nsprinkled flowers on the executed marines' cemeteries in the
\nearly 1970s.<\/p>\n
When an Indonesian national, Basri Mase, was executed by the
\nMalaysian government in 1991 for allegedly possessing narcotics,
\nthere was also some public protest in Indonesia. Many people also
\ndoubted Mase's guilt, particularly when the condemned man's wife
\nmade a public appeal for his release.<\/p>\n
The execution of Basri Mase cut short an Indonesian-Malaysian
\nyouth meeting taking place in Bogor, and the Indonesian
\ngovernment called home its ambassador in Kuala Lumpur for
\n\"consultation\".<\/p>\n
There was no doubt that the Indonesian government was deeply
\ndispleased with the Malaysian government at the time and made its
\nviews known to the other side. Yet again, the crisis was never
\nallowed to get out of hand and bilateral ties between Jakarta and
\nKuala Lumpur remained basically unaffected.<\/p>\n
One cannot but be struck by the differences in response shown
\nby the government in Jakarta and in Manila to similar
\ncircumstances. There are clearly many reasons why there are such
\nglaring differences.<\/p>\n
In both cases affecting Indonesian nationals, the Indonesian
\ngovernment, though angered, did not allow the cases to become a
\npolitical issue. It can, of course, be argued that President
\nSoeharto could afford to ignore popular demands for retaliation
\nagainst Singapore or Malaysia because of the lack of democracy in
\nIndonesia, in contrast to the Philippines. Nevertheless, it
\ncannot be doubted that the most important reason for the
\nIndonesian government's restraint was its concern for ASEAN unity
\nand regional stability. The government also did not want to do
\nanything to project an aggressive regional image and revive
\nmemories of the confrontation period.<\/p>\n
Unlike President Soeharto, President Ramos faces a much more
\nvibrant and contentious political system. It is becoming quite
\nclear that Ramos's political opponents are seizing the Flor
\nContemplacion issue as a weapon to discredit the government on a
\nnumber of issues, such as the large unemployment at home and the
\ngovernment's inability to protect its nationals working abroad.<\/p>\n
It is much harder for President Ramos to try to contain the
\nissue than for President Soeharto. Ramos could easily be
\npilloried for being incompetent and heartless and thus may not be
\nable to hold on to his job.<\/p>\n
Yet it is also becoming quite evident that the inhibitions
\nthat have restrained the Indonesian government when dealing with
\nfellow ASEAN members are largely absent in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Whatever the provocation it is still rather a shock to read
\nthat President Ramos would go to the length of actually severing
\nbilateral ties with Singapore. What would happen to ASEAN then?<\/p>\n
It is clearly to be hoped that this threat was only made in a
\nmoment of great anger and a sense of personal humiliation. Such a
\nreaction is probably excusable, since like President Soeharto's
\nletter earlier, president Ramos's letter to the Singapore
\nPresident to defer the death sentence until further investigation
\nwas totally ignored by the latter.<\/p>\n
This crisis has again demonstrated the need for ASEAN members
\nto be sensitive when dealing with each other, both at the
\ngovernment and societal levels. Although ASEAN adheres to the
\nprinciples of non-interference in each other's internal affairs,
\nit is only natural for a government to try to protect its
\nnationals living in another country, for that is one of the tasks
\nof governments. Since the death penalty is so final, unlike
\ncaning, it would probably have been more judicious for the
\nSingapore government to defer to President Ramos's request to
\ncarry out further investigation and lay all doubts to rest.<\/p>\n
After all one can argue that it is better to spare a guilty
\nlife than to take an innocent one in vain. President Ramos's
\nreaction to Singapore probably reflects the fact that an injury
\nor a hurt is often more deeply felt if it is perpetrated by some
\none close and trusted.<\/p>\n
It is to be hoped that this current crisis will soon blow over
\nas so many other ASEAN crises have done in the past, and ASEAN
\ncan pride itself again on being a harmonious and dynamic regional
\ngrouping.<\/p>\n
We should praise the investigation team in Manila which has
\nasked the government not to break diplomatic ties with Singapore
\neven if it is proven that Flor Contemplacion was a victim of a
\nmiscarry of justice.<\/p>\n
The Singapore government should also be lauded for not
\nreacting to all the open hostilities coming from the Philippines,
\nand for its willingness to cooperate in further investigations.<\/p>\n
Let us pray that common interests and the ASEAN spirit will
\nagain prevail, and that intra-ASEAN relations will become
\nstronger after this tragic event.<\/p>\n
The writer is head of the Regional and International Division
\nat the Center for Political and Regional Studies of the
\nInstitute of Sciences.<\/p>",
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