Singapore, Malaysia to solve prickly issues, says Goh

Singapore, Malaysia to solve prickly issues, says Goh

SINGAPORE (Agencies): Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong sees the city state and Malaysia resolving long-prickly issues over water supply, air space and customs but would not venture to predict exactly when.

Goh, who this week once again tipped the son of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew as his preferred successor, told The Straits Times newspaper the government was waiting for feedback on proposals sent to Kuala Lumpur.

"If their reply shows there is a very small gap in our two positions, then I'm confident it will be resolved some time this year. If the gap is wide, then I've no confidence that it will be resolved this year," he said in an interview published on Friday.

"It's a question of whether we see ourselves engaged in the long term or whether we want to have an advantage, a leverage, over the other party."

Resource-poor Singapore's four million people rely almost entirely on Malaysia for fresh water, leading to fears the taps will be shut off whenever trade or political frictions run hot.

Also at issue is the use of Malaysian air space by the city state's air force, Malaysia's immigration and quarantine post in Singapore and relocation of a train station from Malaysian-owned land that sits in the heart of a prime patch of real estate.

Tiny in size but big on economic clout, the island has had an often uneasy relationship with the bigger neighbor it seceded from in 1965. Ties with Indonesia, another Muslim behemoth, have also been strained over the years.

"We have to be realistic as to how they see us. One, we are a small country. Two, we are regarded as a predominantly Chinese country. Three, we are wealthier than our neighbors on a per capita basis," Goh told the pro-government newspaper.

"We'll respond quietly, and in a dignified manner, to whatever allegations have been made against us. There is no point in giving blow for blow."

Indonesian President Addurrahaman Wahid lashed Singapore in November for being anti-Malay and ignoring its neighbors unless there was money to be made, but the two sides mended some fences this month by hailing cooperation on a new natural gas project.

Goh's comments this week that Singapore's Malay community had fared well in comparison with their counterparts in Malaysia were shrugged off by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Unlike its Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) co-members Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore has seen its economy boom in spite of the region's financial crisis of 1997-98.

"If the countries around us are not going to grow so robustly because of their political problems, we have to leapfrog the region without forgetting that we are tied to the region," Goh told the Straits Times.

"It's not just for Singapore's own sake -- it's also to get these countries (outside the region) to pay attention to ASEAN. But we serve as a catalyst over here."

Goh and his team face the prospect of weaker growth on the back of a global slowdown but still have a strong record to take to the electorate in polls due by August 2002.

The long-ruling People's Action Party -- often criticized by the opposition for not giving them a fair chance to compete for votes -- has been on a drive to recruit the government ministers of tomorrow, fuelling speculation of an early election.

Goh's naming of his deputy Lee Hsien Loong, a brigadier general and eldest son of Singapore's first leader, as his choice to take over as prime minister by 2007 came as no surprise.

On Friday, Malaysia summoned Singapore's high commissioner to protest against claims by Goh that ethnic Malays do better in Singapore than in Malaysia.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said K. Kesavapany was summoned by the ministry to clarify (Goh's remarks) and at the same time Kuala Lumpur would press her views over the matter.

Goh's statement had hurt the feelings and sensitivity of the Malays in the country and Malaysia regarded it as meddling in its internal affairs, he said.

"In fact, the statement itself is full of innuendos questioning the effectiveness of the Malaysian government to uplift the well-being of its people.

"This is tantamount to interference in the domestic affairs of the country," he added. "We regret the statement," Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

In a speech on Sunday, Goh had praised the achievements of Malays in majority-Chinese Singapore and hit back at overseas claims the community had been marginalised. Goh said that as of last year 25 percent of Singapore's Malay workforce had upper secondary or higher qualifications compared to 14 percent in Malaysia in 1998.