At the height of the case involving the former Israeli president Chaim Herzog's visit to Singapore in 1986, a very telling but revealing saying quoted from the Romans by the late Malaysian premier, Tunku Abdul Rahman rings so self-evidently true even to this day.

Visibly chagrined by what he saw as a taunt to Malay sensitivities, the Tunku in chiding Singapore said, "The Romans have a saying. The fool who holdeth the peace is considered wise"

Coming from an elderly statesman like the Tunku, it was meant to be taken seriously and also to underscore the gravity of the matter, then.