Singapore suggests easing ban on Malaysian newspapers<\/p>\n
Reuters, Singapore<\/p>\n
Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore, suggested that
\nMalaysia and Singapore ease a three-decade old ban on each
\nother's newspapers.<\/p>\n
Predominantly Muslim Malaysia and ethnic-majority Chinese
\nSingapore have had a testy relationship since they split 1965,
\nbut ties have been on the mend since Malaysian Prime Minister
\nAbdullah Ahmad Badawi took power in October 2003.<\/p>\n
\"We read Indonesian papers. We ought to be able to read
\nMalaysian papers,\" Lee was quoted as saying by Singapore's
\nBusiness Times on Friday.<\/p>\n
Singapore and Malaysia banned circulation of each other's
\npapers in the 1960's following accusations that both sides were
\ntrying to influence politics across the narrow strip of sea that
\nseparates the tiny island state Singapore from mainland Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The paper said Lee made the comments at a briefing for
\nSingapore reporters at the end of a four-day visit to Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Lee was Singapore prime minister from 1965 to 1990 and remains
\nan influential cabinet member in his son Lee Hsien Loong's
\ngovernment as minister mentor.<\/p>\n
The paper quoted Lee as saying that Abdullah did not object to
\nan easing of the ban and that Malaysian newspapers were \"not
\naverse\" to the suggestion.<\/p>\n
\"Let's not push it. This is some idea tossed out to maintain
\nknowledge and intimacy with each other,\" Lee said.<\/p>\n
Major newspapers in Malaysia are best-selling English daily
\nThe Star, the New Straits Times and its sister publication, the
\nbest-selling Malay-language daily Berita Harian, and Utusan
\nMalaysia. Their reporting normally reflects the thinking of the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Government-linked Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Ltd publishes
\nThe Business Times and best-selling English language daily The
\nStraits Times. The group said it welcomed the idea.<\/p>\n
\"The restriction on circulation is woefully outdated. We live
\nin an Internet world. People in both countries already access
\nmedia content across the Causeway on line,\" Cheong Yip Seng,
\neditor-in-chief of SPH's English and Malay Newspapers Division,
\nwas quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Singapore and Malaysia ended a two-year dispute
\nover Singapore's land-reclamation works in the Johor Strait.<\/p>",
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