Akbar assures Singapore of good ties

Akbar assures Singapore of good ties

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia wants to maintain good relations with
Singapore and the other members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung
said on Monday.

"We always try to keep up relations with Singapore as best as
we can, and our relations remain excellent," Akbar said after
meeting with President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka Palace.

Singapore newspapers have carried sharp reactions to Habibie's
recent statement that ethnic Malays could not become military
officers in the island-state.

"In Singapore, if you are a Malay, you can never become a
military officer. They are the real racists, not us here. You
can go and check this out," Habibie had said in an interview with
a Taiwanese media.

"There was no intention of saying there is a discriminatory
policy in Singapore," Akbar said.

This was not the first time Habibie has expressed his negative
views on Singapore. In an interview with the Asian Wall Street
Journal in August, he described Singapore as a mere red dot
compared to Indonesia. He also criticized the country for its
tardiness in welcoming his appointment as Soeharto's presidential
replacement in May and for its reluctance to disburse its US$5
billion aid pledge.

"You see, a friend in need is a friend indeed... I don't have
that feeling from Singapore," Habibie had then said.

Habibie was upset with the comments of Singapore's senior
minister Lee Kuan Yew that his election as vice president in
March last year was not welcomed by the market.

Habibie apparently wanted to link his statement with the
controversial statement of then minister of defense Brig. Gen.
Lee Hsien Loong in 1987 that Singapore would avoid posting Malays
in the army to areas where their feelings for the nation and
their feelings for their religion might conflict.

Singapore then clarified the remark of the son of Lee Kuan
Yew, following angry comments from neighboring countries.

"We do not have any intention at all of worsening or loosening
relations," Akbar hinted on Monday.

The minister said there has still been no official protest
from Singapore over the President's remark.

"We just know about it from news reports," he noted. (prb)