Singapore a convenient target for Indonesia's ire

Singapore a convenient target for Indonesia's ire

By Kornelius Purba

TOKYO (JP): In his memoir, From Third World To First, The
Singapore Story: 1965-2000, Lee Kuan Yew recalls his
conversation with then president Sukarno at Merdeka Palace, five
years before Singapore officially separated from Malaysia and
became an independent state in 1965.

"He (Sukarno) asked, 'How big is your population?' 'One and
half million,' I (Lee) replied. He had 100 million. 'How many
cars do you have?' 'About 1,000,' I said. Jakarta had 50,000,"
Lee wrote.

The quiz "puzzled" Lee but he then "readily conceded that he
(Sukarno) occupied first place in Southeast Asia in terms of
size."

President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's outrage against
Singapore last month eventually completed the country's history
of all four Indonesian presidents having, at least once,
belittled the tiny but prosperous island state.

All of them -- Sukarno, Soeharto, B.J. Habibie and Gus Dur --
have shown an inclination to take the big brother position
against Singapore's leader. All had their tiffs with the
renowned, not to mention sharp-tongued, statesman, Lee Kuan Yew.
His bluntness, and sometimes his insensitivity, had often sparked
the ire of neighboring countries, especially the predominantly
Muslim nations Indonesia and Malaysia.

Particularly when their governments were in a difficult
position, the four Indonesian leaders would look around and scold
neighbors. Singapore was always an easy target, due to its
prosperity, small size, and the majority of Chinese among its
population -- who have also been scapegoats in Indonesia.

In his book, Lee also recalled how Singapore's ambassador in
Jakarta, Rahim Ishak, warned him: " ... Indonesians, both the
leaders and the people, viewed Singapore as Chinese. He said
Indonesian attitudes to Singapore were inextricably tied up with
their feelings toward their Indonesian ethnic Chinese".

"Singapore, he (Ishak) warned, would be a convenient whipping
boy whenever there was discontent in Indonesia," Lee writes.

However, Gus Dur's recent anger was rather surprising compared
with his three predecessors, because Lee Kuan Yew was the first
foreign leader asked by an Indonesian President to become his
advisor on international affairs. This watershed moment occurred
soon after Gus Dur's election as president last October.

In the latest outburst aimed at Singapore (though toned down
by aides) Gus Dur ruined more than his own carefully built
reputation of accommodating Indonesian Chinese, including its
business circle.

"President Abdurrahman has destroyed his own reputation as a
moderate Muslim leader," an Indonesian official said.

"Gus Dur resurrected the anxiety of the ethnic Chinese," he
added.

"The Chinese business community was shocked with his
statements, especially because they are proud of him as the
protector of minorities," the source, requesting anonymity,
confided.

In a recent telephone conversation with The Jakarta Post, he
reiterated that it was not true that Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
had rejected the President's suggestion to include Papua New
Guinea and East Timor into the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.

"He never raised the issue during the summit. I am sorry to
say, as he practically cannot see, maybe it is only based in his
own imagination," the source said.

The affair, the trigger of which remains unclear, was a pity;
Gus Dur had made a good diplomatic start. Realizing the fragile
ties between Indonesia and its neighbor, Singapore became his
first foreign destination in November. Despite the informality of
the visit, Prime Minister Goh personally welcomed him at the
Changi Airport. Lee escorted him back to the airport where he
later continued his journey to Kuala Lumpur.

Lee's book suggests that relations with Singapore are again on
the mend, with the historical backdrop of Indonesian leaders
sending out changing signals to Singapore as "friend or foe" as
events of the past.

Under Sukarno, Indonesia was embroiled in confrontations with
Singapore and Malaysia. Armed conflicts erupted on the border of
Malaysia and Indonesia, in Kalimantan.

According to Lee, Sukarno's envoy Subandrio, conveying a
message from his boss, told Lee during a meeting in Singapore:
"Look at all the tall buildings in Singapore. They are all built
with Indonesian money, stolen from Indonesians through
smuggling".

After becoming acting president in 1967, Soeharto decided to
restore relations.

According to Lee, Soeharto's senior aide Adam Malik boasted
that the new government was ready to protect Singapore, "even if
the threats come from Genghis Khan".

In October 1968, however, the relations soured again. The
nation and Soeharto were outraged as Singapore, despite Indonesia
begging for clemency, hanged two Indonesian marine commandos who
detonated a bomb at a bank building on Orchard Road in 1964,
killing three people. The killing occurred during the
confrontation era.

In 1973, Lee flew to Jakarta and met with Soeharto. He went to
the graves of the two marine solders at the Kalibata Heroes
Cemetery, and scattered flowers on them.

When the financial crisis hit Indonesia in 1997, Singapore
promised US$5 billion to help Indonesia. Soeharto then announced
that the amount promised by Goh was doubled.

The 1997 crisis was unexpected for many, after being led to
believe that the economy was reasonably stable. Again Singapore
became the target in difficult times: Soeharto's regime alleged
that Singapore played a major role in the rupiah's collapse.

Then under Habibie came the famous "Red Dot Rage". In an
interview with The Asian Wall Street Journal in August 1998, the
third president complained that Singapore sent a belated
congratulation to him after he replaced Soeharto as president in
May that year.

"It's OK with me, but there are 211 million people in
Indonesia. Look at the map. All the green area is Indonesia. And
that red dot is Singapore," he told the newspaper.

Habibie was formerly in charge of the development of Batam,
the island in the Riau province south of Singapore, but since
1976 it failed to become remotely comparable to the city state.

Lee's open opposition for his election as vice president in
March 1998 also hurt Habibie.

A former ASEAN Secretariat official visiting Japan, and a
Japanese official, conceded that Singapore should be more
sensitive with its neighbors especially when they are facing
difficult times.

"In the ASEAN forum Singapore often appears arrogant and
uncaring about the problems faced by its neighbors," the official
said.

Leaders seeking convenient scapegoats, however, are not
helping their own problems either.

The writer is a journalist of The Jakarta Post.