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."