Singapore-Malaysia relations strained
Singapore-Malaysia relations strained
SINGAPORE: Sections of the Malaysian media were souring relations
with neighboring Singapore by publishing unfounded information,
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said in remarks published on Sunday.
Singapore's prime minister accused some media in Malaysia of
being "more interested in chasing up stories which could sour
relations," the Sunday Times reported.
He did not name any particular media group or stories. Goh's
remarks were made to reporters during his visit to Denmark and
Spain amid increased strains between Singapore and Malaysia.
The prime minister said he could not understand the attitude
of the Malaysian media towards Singapore. His government had
tried to send to them corrections of inaccurate reports but this
proved futile, he said. --AFP
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Aglance-Malaysia-tourism
Malaysian Islamic party urged to drop plans to ban bikinis
JP/9/ASEAN
Party urged to drop bikini-ban plans
MALAYSIA: An opposition party on Sunday urged its former Islamic
ally to drop plans to ban tourists from wearing bikinis under a
new proposed dress code in a state it controls.
The Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) state government in northeast
Terengganu said on Friday it was drawing up a dress code to
discourage tourists from wearing revealing outfits.
It has also told hotels in the state to build separate
swimming pools for men and women as part of an "educational
program to ensure tourists respect the local culture and
tradition."
But a former PAS ally in an opposition alliance, the
Democratic Action Party (DAP), said the new ruling was "unfair
and insensitive to the rights of non-Muslims and totally
unnecessary." --AFP
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Aglance-Thai-holy water
Bangkok residents flock to shrine for holy water on city's 220th
JP/9/ASEAN
Thais flock to shrine for holy water
THAILAND: More than 10,000 Bangkok residents gathered on Sunday
in the historic Sanam Luang district to collect vials of holy
water handed out by city officials to mark the Thai capital's
220th anniversary.
Local authorities had initially planned to distribute 100,000
vials of the 100-year-old holy water, but Bangkok governor Samak
Sundaravej called for an additional 600 liters, the local Nation
daily newspaper reported on Sunday.
Holding umbrellas to block the sun on a sweltering day, city
dwellers began exchanging free vouchers for the vials around
12:30 p.m. at Bangkok's City Pillar shrine.
Hindu priests and Buddhist monks read out ancient verses,
believed to bring good fortune to the city and its residents, at
the shrine. --AP
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Aglance-Vietnam-Laos
Fresh disturbances at Laos-Vietnam border crossing
JP/9/ASEAN
New Violence at Laos-Vietnam border crossing
VIETNAM: Troops were deployed at one of Vietnam's main border
crossings with Laos for a second night after a customs anti-
smuggling operation again ran into violent resistance from
locals, an official newspaper said Sunday.
The border guard was summoned after an angry crowd of around
30 people surrounded customs officers when they attempted to
detain two smugglers at the Cau Treo checkpoint, the ruling
communist party's mouthpiece daily Nhan Dan (The People) said.
The smugglers had rammed a customs officer's car as they
charged the checkpoint on the main tourist bus route between
Hanoi and Vientiane on Wednesday night before escaping into an
adjacent market.
The two men, who were both eventually arrested, would be
charged over the incident -- the second at the crossing in 24
hours -- the daily said. --AFP
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Aglance-Cambodia-culture
Ancient relics head home to Cambodia
JP/9/ASEAN
Ancient relics head home to Cambodia
CAMBODIA: Two ancient Khmer artifacts will be returned to
Cambodia later this week amid mounting international efforts to
resolve disputes around antiquities missing from impoverished
third world countries.
A ninth-century stone head of the Hindu god Shiva and a 12th-
century stone head of an asura or demon will be presented to the
Cambodian government by a delegation from the Honolulu Academy of
Arts in the US state of Hawaii on April 26.
Most of the Cambodian antiques were looted during the civil
wars which ravaged the country between 1970 and 1979. They were
often sold in Hong Kong and Thailand before heading to the United
States, and Europe.
Further looting occurred during the 10 year occupation by
Vietnam which began with the ousting of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in
1979 and ended through a tactical withdrawal orchestrated by the
United Nations.
Efforts to retrieve the lost treasures since then were
bolstered through the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and
publication of a book: "One Hundred Missing Objects: Looting in
Angkor." --AFP