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.