Goh pledges to work hard to forge ties with Malaysia

Goh pledges to work hard to forge ties with Malaysia

SINGAPORE (Agencies): Singapore Premier Goh Chok Tong has
pledged to work "very hard" to improve ties with Malaysia, moving
to end a diplomatic row over patriarch Lee Kuan Yew's remarks on
crime in a Malaysian state.

"I have tried and I will try very hard to improve relations
with Malaysia. That is my job," Goh, who succeeded Lee in 1990,
said late Saturday.

"I want good relations with Malaysia, and I believe Malaysian
PM Mahathir also wants good relations with Singapore," he said.

Using football terminology, Goh said Senior Minister Lee was
"offside" when he remarked that the southern Malaysian state of
Johor was "notorious for shootings, muggings and car-jackings."

"He recognized he was offside," Goh, 55, said in comments
published by the Sunday Times. "He apologized to Malaysians and
the Malaysian government.

"He has apologized to Malaysians and the Malaysia government.
I would want to move on from here. I do not want to spend too
much time looking back, we should try to move forward with the
best of our ability," the prime minister told an official dinner
at a country club.

The comments were Goh's first on the episode, which
underscored how sensitive relations between the neighbors
continue to be more than three decades after their separation.

Lee, 73, described Johor as crime-ridden in an affidavit
supporting defamation lawsuits against lawyer Tang Liang Hong, a
political opponent who fled to the Malaysian state saying he
feared for his safety here.

"It did not make any sense for a person who claims to be
fearful of his life to go to a place like Johor," the elder
statesman said.

The comments sparked outrage in Malaysia, triggering an
official protest, a demand for apology and wide-spread
condemnation from Malaysian groups.

Lee, who stepped down in 1990 after 31 years as prime
minister, tendered an unprecedented public apology Thursday,
saying he had no intention of causing offense and that his
perceptions about Johor were based on press reports.

The Malaysian cabinet is expected to discuss the apology
Wednesday.

Some Malaysian groups have said the apology was not enough and
Lee should retract his comments.

"Senior Minister is a grown man. He decides for himself," Goh
said of the demand. "We have discussed this, but basically he
doesn't retract statements based on perceptions."

It was the second time in a year that Lee, the architect of
modern Singapore, found himself at the center of a row with
Malaysia.

Last year, he warned that Singapore could be forced to seek a
re-merger with Malaysia if the island faltered economically,
remarks Malaysia saw as an insult because it was allegedly being
portrayed as a "bogey".

Goh added that it was unfortunate that "hiccups" occurred in
ties between the two countries, but stressed that the
fundamentals for the relationship were sound.

He called for more joint projects with Malaysia, saying "if we
can get a few projects going, then the positives can outweigh the
negatives."