Alwi plays down tirade on Singapore

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab played down the significance of President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's verbal attacks on Singapore as "a little row between a married couple" that should not affect relations between the two countries.

"Relations between Indonesia and Singapore are very close, like that of a husband and wife," Alwi told reporters before attending an inquiry at the House of Representatives.

"I don't see this turning into a serious problem. I know that Singapore needs us and that we need Singapore. I hope the media will not blow this out of proportion," he said.

President Abdurrahman, during a meeting with the Indonesian community in Singapore, criticized Singapore for "underestimating the Malays" and for profiting from its relations with Indonesia. He also threatened to join forces with Malaysia to cut off water supplies to Singapore.

The President made his displeasure with Singapore clear, particularly Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, for opposing his proposal to include East Timor and Papua New Guinea in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He said he also took particular offense to recent public remarks by Lee suggesting that the Indonesian President would soon resign.

Abdurrahman was in Singapore on the weekend to attend the summit of 10 ASEAN leaders and those of China, Japan and South Korea to discuss East Asia economic cooperation.

Alwi could not explain the rationale behind the president's attacks because he was not present at the time, but said that "like other married couples, the two countries would soon make up."

He cited recent problems in bilateral relations as possible reasons for the remarks, including Singapore's inability to stop the smuggling of Indonesian fuel products into the island state and its failure to regulate currency trading which he said could have spared Indonesia from the financial crisis.

The President's criticisms of Singapore were in response to the accumulation of these problems, he said.

"It is like a glass of water. The water overflows when it is full," Alwi said.

The minister said he believed that Senior Minister Lee would continue to serve as a member of President Abdurrahman's board of advisors although he may have said something that offended the Indonesian leader.

Criticism

Separately, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung criticized the way Abdurrahman attacked Lee and urged the government to take immediate actions to mend the ties between Indonesia and Singapore.

"It was too sharp. The President should not have spoken bitter words since Indonesia and Singapore need each other," Akbar, who is also chairman of Golkar Party, said.

He said Indonesia and Singapore have nurtured cooperation for years and they should continue to do so.

He said the two countries, for example, worked together in developing industrial estates on Batam island near Singapore.

Akbar suggested that Lee's opposition to Abdurrahman's idea to form a West Pacific Forum should be respected.

"But Lee's opinion probably did not represent his country. It's his right to disagree with Gus Dur," Akbar said.

He said Abdurrahman's proposal to establish the new regional forum needed thorough consideration as to whether it would help the country's economic recovery.

"I think there is no direct relation between the proposed forum and the actual problems facing the nation," Akbar said.

Singapore officials, meanwhile, maintained a diplomatic silence to the outburst by Abdurrahman.

Neither government officials nor Senior Minister Lee would respond to his statement.

"If there is going to be a statement, then we will let you know," a government source told AFP.

There was also no consensus among stock market traders on the impact of Abdurrahman's comments as the market dipped slightly by 0.2 percent.

For every dealer who said Abdurrahman's comments dampened market sentiment, there was another who said there was no impact because the comments "cannot be taken at face value."

Business Times columnist Yang Razali Kassim said Abdurrahman's tongue-lashing seemed to confirm what was already an incipient shift in Jakarta's attitude towards Singapore and, to an extent, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"Hitherto warm (relations) towards Singapore leaders, (could be cooled by) Gus Dur's about-face (and) could portend a dangerous shift in foreign policy which could split ASEAN at a time when the group is trying hard to forge greater cohesion and unity to face the growing economic competition from Northeast Asia," Yang Razali wrote. (04/jun)