Singapore suggests easing ban on Malaysian newspapers
Singapore suggests easing ban on Malaysian newspapers
Reuters, Singapore
Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore, suggested that Malaysia and Singapore ease a three-decade old ban on each other's newspapers.
Predominantly Muslim Malaysia and ethnic-majority Chinese Singapore have had a testy relationship since they split 1965, but ties have been on the mend since Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took power in October 2003.
"We read Indonesian papers. We ought to be able to read Malaysian papers," Lee was quoted as saying by Singapore's Business Times on Friday.
Singapore and Malaysia banned circulation of each other's papers in the 1960's following accusations that both sides were trying to influence politics across the narrow strip of sea that separates the tiny island state Singapore from mainland Malaysia.
The paper said Lee made the comments at a briefing for Singapore reporters at the end of a four-day visit to Malaysia.
Lee was Singapore prime minister from 1965 to 1990 and remains an influential cabinet member in his son Lee Hsien Loong's government as minister mentor.
The paper quoted Lee as saying that Abdullah did not object to an easing of the ban and that Malaysian newspapers were "not averse" to the suggestion.
"Let's not push it. This is some idea tossed out to maintain knowledge and intimacy with each other," Lee said.
Major newspapers in Malaysia are best-selling English daily The Star, the New Straits Times and its sister publication, the best-selling Malay-language daily Berita Harian, and Utusan Malaysia. Their reporting normally reflects the thinking of the government.
Government-linked Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Ltd publishes The Business Times and best-selling English language daily The Straits Times. The group said it welcomed the idea.
"The restriction on circulation is woefully outdated. We live in an Internet world. People in both countries already access media content across the Causeway on line," Cheong Yip Seng, editor-in-chief of SPH's English and Malay Newspapers Division, was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, Singapore and Malaysia ended a two-year dispute over Singapore's land-reclamation works in the Johor Strait.