S'pore should take M'sian criticism in its stride: Jayakumar
SINGAPORE - The Singapore government responded to growing Malaysian sniping today, with Foreign Minister S Jayakumar saying many criticisms from Kuala Lumpur were unsubstantiated and Singaporeans should take them in their stride.
"I suggest that the best course and direction for us is not to be unduly perturbed by these strident diatribes but proceed with our daily affairs," he told parliament in response to questions from fellow MPs.
Jayakumar cited recent remarks by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad published in the Malaysian media in which he said that just as there were many ways to skin a cat, there were many ways to skin Singapore.
Mahathir's remarks were made in the context of growing competition for investments between the two neighbours.
Jayakumar said such statements should be taken in stride, pointing out that "skinning the cat" has been one of Mahathir's favourite phrases in media interviews even on issues not related to Singapore.
But, in an apparent broadside, the veteran foreign minister said that "cats after all have nine lives" and "no cat is going to lie down meekly to be skinned."
Land issue
In the latest bilateral tiff, Kuala Lumpur has protested a land reclamation project by Singapore along their narrow maritime border which it said would affect shipping lanes to Malaysian ports.
Jayakumar said Malaysia's written complaint about the project contained only "general allegations but no specific details".
Singapore responded to the letter on May 3 by asking Malaysia to be more specific but has yet to receive an answer, he said.
Bilateral ties have been testy since Singapore was kicked out of the Malaysian Federation in 1965, and rose to become one of Asia's wealthiest nations.
Other issues affecting bilateral relations include water supplies which are largely sourced from Malaysia, a proposed bridge linking the countries, the use of Malaysian airspace by Singaporean aircraft, and the location of Malaysia's customs, immigration and quarantine facility in the city-state.
Singapore has also protested what it said was interference by Malaysian politicians on a decision to suspend three Muslim primary school girls for defying a ban on wearing Islamic headscarfs in class.
Malaysia is a largely Muslim nation, while Singapore is dominated by ethnic Chinese but has a substantial Malay community who follow Islam.
For more news and views that matter, subscribe and support independent media for only RM0.36 sen a day:
Subscribe now