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Malaysia’s former prime minister said there “was no chance at all” of military aggression towards the island republic, and that Malaysia was not intimidated by Singapore’s larger defence budget.
“His fear is completely unfounded. Malaysians have never had any aggressive intentions,” he was quoted as saying in “Doctor M: Operation Malaysia — Conversations with Mahathir Mohamed”, written by US journalist Tom Plate based on interviews with Dr Mahathir over the last two years.
Dr Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, also claimed that south Thailand was actually part of Malaysia but pointed out that the country had not tried to invade its northern neighbours.
Lee had, in a biography called “Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going” published last month, said the city state was “vulnerable” to the possibility that Malaysia “can besiege you. You’ll be dead.”
“If we are not vulnerable, why do we spend five to six per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) year after year on defence? Are we mad? This is a frugal government,” Singapore’s first prime minister was quoted as saying in the book.
Singapore’s defence outlay had sparked controversy in Malaysia, with right-wing nationalists such as Utusan Malaysia columnist Ridhuan Tee Abdullah claiming that the republic was preparing to “eat us up” with its annual defence spending of RM35.5 billion, which is more than triple the RM11 billion Malaysia spent last year.
However, Dr Mahathir said that this was not a threat to Malaysia.
“We are not afraid of their F-16s, you see, because in the end, when you fight the war, you have to come down to the ground. And you come down to the ground and fight with handguns. See that is more important than all the bombs from up in the air,” he said.
The two former leaders have not seen eye-to-eye on bilateral issues such as the sale of water and sand to the island and the construction of a new bridge between Johor and Singapore.
Referring to the sale of sand from Malaysia to Singapore for construction and land reclamation, Lee said in “Hard Truths” that Malaysia had stopped the sale “to conscribe us.”
“As Mahathir says, ‘Even at their present size they are trouble, you let them grow some more they will be more trouble,’” said Lee, who stepped down as prime minister in 1990.
But in “Operation Malaysia”, Dr Mahathir said that Singapore had insisted on purchasing sand in exchange for agreeing to a new bridge to replace the Causeway across the Straits of Johor.
“They refuse to build their half unless of course we give them certain kinds of concessions, like selling them sand for their reclamation. Selling sand for reclamation is like selling part of your country to other people,” he said of the bridge that was first mooted in the 1990s when he was still prime minister.
Dr Mahathir continues to lobby for the Causeway linking the two countries to be replaced by a bridge that allows ships to pass under it, thereby bypassing Singapore’s port.
Singapore’s refusal has led to Dr Mahathir’s “crooked bridge” proposal that would curve and increase the length of the bridge so that ships could still pass under at its highest point.
Looking at what is happening in Egypt these days the following fable, slightly adjusted, comes to mind:A frog and the scorpion, met one day on the bank of the River Nile, which they both wanted to cross. The frog offered to carry the scorpion over on his back provided the scorpion promised not to sting him. The scorpion agreed so long as the frog would promise not to drown him. They mutually agreed to the deal and started to cross the river. Half-way to the other bank the scorpion stung the frog with his venom. "Why did you do that?" gasped the frog, as it was dying. "Why?" replied the scorpion, "I couldn't help it. This is the Middle East.readmore http://malaysiakita786.blogspot.com/2011/02/dr-m-singapore-scorpion-and-malaysian.html
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