Setting course for new direction

Setting course for new direction

IT has become standard practice for a new leader of an Asean
nation to make a brief official tour of each member country,
which involves making a 'courtesy call' on his or her
counterpart.

However, when bilateral relations are somewhat strained, as it
has been for some time between Malaysia and Singapore, such a
visit raises speculation that something beyond diplomatic
niceties could be afoot.

It was partly to play down expectations of substantial
negotiations that led diplomats on both sides of the Causeway to
stress that the meeting between Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
and Goh Chok Tong on Monday was basically an open-ended first
step. There was certainly not enough time in the one-hour meeting
for the two leaders to resolve the "dead knots" between the two
countries.

However, while they did not get down to the details, there
were encouraging signs that things could get better. If Goh had
just exchanged pleasantries with Abdullah for a few minutes and
given him a perfunctory handshake and a stiff smile before saying
goodbye, he could not have been accused of breaching decorum.
Instead, Abdullah was given the pomp and ceremony of an official
visit and a warm personal welcome from Goh. Singapore has
reciprocated the Prime Minister's overture by offering to broaden
official contacts between the two countries.

More importantly, a sure sign of irreconciliable differences
is when both parties in a dispute refuse to talk to each other
directly and use a third party to mediate. Although Goh has said
that "you can't untie" the "dead knot" issues which have
entangled bilateral relations, the fact that he agreed to
Abdullah's proposal to continue discussions when he preferred
arbitration suggests that there is cause for optimisim about the
thawing in relations between the two countries.

It is true that there has been precious little to show in the
many years of talks except acrimony and the hardening of
positions. Which is why the way out of the cul-de-sac that both
countries have found themselves stuck in is to think out of the
box, as Abdullah has suggested.

Time, of course, will tell what these fresh ideas and
different approaches will be and whether they will finally undo
the deadlock of the last few years. But Abdullah's visit will
have begun the process of unloading the historical baggage that
has burdened relations thus far.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur