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.