Singapore paper rebuts Habibie

Singapore paper rebuts Habibie

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Singapore's New Paper took Indonesian
President B.J. Habibie to task on Wednesday for reportedly saying
ethnic Malays could not be military officers in the city-state.

Habibie was quoted as saying in an interview with Taiwan media
published and broadcast this week: "In Singapore, if you are a
Malay, you can never become a military officer.

"They are the real racists, not here. You can go and check it
out."

In a comment on the remarks, the tabloid New Paper, part of
the government-linked Singapore Press Holdings publishing
monopoly, said: "Obviously there is something about Singapore
that irks Dr Habibie. How else do you explain his latest outburst
against Singapore?"

With its commentary the New Paper ran pictures of a Malay
lieutenant-colonel and air force pilot, data showing increasing
numbers of Malay officers in the Singapore armed forces, and
quotes from members of Singapore's parliament, including a Malay,
disputing Habibie's remarks.

Indonesian Education Minister Juwono Sudarsono, visiting
Singapore for a conference, defended Habibie on Wednesday.

"I think Singaporean leaders understand that President Habibie
has a lot of learning and unlearning to do about Singapore,"
Singapore state television's Teletext service quoted Juwono as
saying.

He said the president might not have known there were Malay
officers in the Singapore armed forces and might have been
misinformed.

"He may know a lot about technology but he may not know about
the social and economic context and since he's a bubbly person,
the president, I think Singaporeans will understand," Juwono
said.

Juwono said he was confident that Habibie's remarks would not
sour relations between the two neighbors.

The New Paper cited other critical comments Habibie had made
about Singapore since taking office in May, and suggested he
"must be wondering why his closest neighbor is relatively
unscathed" by the regional economic crisis.

"Wondering about it is ok. Talking about it is also ok. But to
be upset or green-eyed about it? Well, we hope it is not that."
"With general elections and presidential elections casting a dark
shadow on the political players in Indonesia, Singapore can
always be used as the convenient whipping boy," the newspaper
said.

Of Singapore's citizens, some 77 percent are ethnic Chinese,
14 percent Malay and 7 percent Indian.