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)