Lee takes aim at Malaysia

Lee takes aim at Malaysia

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Singapore's elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew, in memoirs published on Sunday, accused Malaysia of "bullying and intimidation" during the two countries' brief federation, and believed it could use the still contentious issue of water supplies to cow its southern neighbor.

The comments by the former prime minister, who led Singapore through the two-year union which ended in 1965, were published as a first extract of memoirs by The Sunday Times.

Singapore and Malaysia had merged as the best way to gain independence from Britain. But the union was fraught with disputes and marred by bloody race riots in Singapore in 1964, which Lee said were backed by key players in Kuala Lumpur.

Lee, prime minister from 1959 to 1990, is now Senior Minister. He quoted former Malaysian prime minister Abdul Rahman as telling Britain's High Commissioner Antony Head in Kuala Lumpur, on the day the federation split, that Singapore would be controlled through water supply and other levers of pressure.