"Arrogant and disrespectful," Tun Mahathir Mohamad slammed Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for his insulting remarks about Malaysian and Indonesia’s treatment of the Chinese community.
Last Friday, Kuan Yew said the attitude of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia towards Singapore was shaped by the way they treat their own ethnic Chinese minorities.
"Our neighbours both have problems with their Chinese. They are successful. They are hardworking and therefore they are systemically marginalised," he said.Indonesia and Malaysia "want Singapore, to put it simply, to be like their Chinese — compliant", Lee said.
In which, by responding to his statement, Mahathir told Kuan Yew not to feel smug about what he had said.
"You should just guard your own rice bowl. You are not that clever. In a small group, perhaps you seem clever."But when he goes to China, the Chinese there don’t want to listen to him. The Chinese in China don’t think much of him and it is a fact that he is marginalised by Chinese in the world," he said.
He thought he is clever, by taking cheapshots towards Malaysian Chinese and putting the whole community into the wrong limelight.
However, he might have missed the point that, the truth is he himself who made his people more compliant than ever, if he so wished to meddle into our affair. "What the Government says is right" and "follow the Government instruction is right" attitude are the result of ideology instilled by no other than him.
End of the day, the lesson we must grasp from this fiasco is, put aside the arrogant and disrespectful remark, if we ourselves aren’t showing that kind of unity within us, sometimes you just can’t blame others for taking chance on us.
Afterall, we’re who and what we’re, aren’t we?
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OK, OK. Please don’t fight. I don’t want to end up getting whacked at Bugis just for possessing a MyKad at a wrong place, over some exchange of words.
Methinks tearing up old woulds in a long time strained relationship (historical considerations included) is not a good idea…
Yeah man…make love, not war!
I don’t see the point why leaders would want to make such remarks, knowing very well that anything that they mutter out of that hole in their heads is bound to be captured by the smallest receptors of the media…
Well, what can I say, thy tongue is a fatal weapon…
I know not many Malaysian Chinese like LKY. They respect him but he is not very loved.
However, LKY DID NOT say anything about whether it was right or wrong for Malaysian Chinese to be or forced to be compliant. His point is that Singapore, as a nation/people should not be compliant to Malaysian government. That makes perfect sense and absolutely true
On the other hand, Dr. M retaliated by saying things that are false and untrue. To say that LKY is not respected in China is false and malicious, not just ‘naughty’ which I am sure Dr. M thought he was trying to do. . LKY memoirs sold millions of copies in China. Compared to their leaders like Deng Xiao Peng and Zhou En lai, LKY is not regarded in the same league by the Chinese but LKY admitted that to everyone including the Chinese people.
Deep down I have come to suspect Dr. M and those he has trained like Najib to be pathologically insecure and jealous.
Do read article by Dato Rezal Arbee, entitled "Are the Chinese discriminated in Malaysia?" in the link below:
http://www.beritakmu.net/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=5424
Dato is a veteran journalist sacked by Tingkat 4 for acknowledging the Internet voices. He now regularly contributes to this MyKMU website
I don’t like Dirty Harry but yes, I respect his brains. Isn’t he stating the obvious?
talk until Elvis Presley is reborned…. still talking same thing. Anyway, news is the best entertainment. Keep it up!!!
Here is a extra-terrestrial observation…
One day, the almighty god took a glance at planet earth. To his amaze, the earth was than ever. He felt contended, for earth is one of his best creation.
He decided to add more things to it.. He took a chunk of sand and moulded it into a human shape. Then he baked it with fire to create human…. Oopss…. overcook! The human had been overcook, and almighty god decided to put it to a place called Africa.
Not satisfied and feeling rather heebie-jeebie, he tried a second time.. This time, he took the fire carefully, slowly and merticulously. He dimed the fire pre-maturedly and thus …. a human which is too rare, too little cook. He felt… arrgh! He decided to dump it to a place called Europe.
He was not going to quit; at least by his standard. He decided to try another. This time, he knew as he is a smart man, that he already have a best practice. He redo another human from sand and into the fire, focus intensively towards the processes and finally…. came the finest creation. Human with yellowish skin, hidden beneath these skin is reddish flesh and blood. That is it, he said, this is my finest creation.
He put it into a place called China and gave them a lot of sperm.
Funny because I thought that statement had at least 5% of truth in it. But I am not sure if M’sia and Indonesia wanted S’pore to be ‘compliant’.
Maybe we should start examining why LKY was given a chance to say such a thing – The opportunity given to him, was a direct consequence of the brou-ha-ha happening in our own country.
You’re right, SK. If our country were indeed strongly united, LKY probably would not have had the chance to utter that statement.
Though I would agree that he could have kept quiet and no issue is raised.
By the way… here’s another commentary.
http://www.beritakmu.net/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=5424
Big Joe, I beg to differ. It is LKY who is jealous and insecure vis-à-vis Dr M. Harry could put a lot of Malaysian politicians in his pocket but not Dr M. In China, Japan, the US, Australia, Europe, Middle East – Dr M is more known and respected than LKY can ever be. He brought Israel to his tiny island but even the Jews, they know Mahathir by his name and his words.
And Bayi, how can you respect this guy’s brains and then say he’s stating the obvious?
What is it that is obvious to you?
Thank you.
That Rezal Abee is talking nonsense. Whoever uses the income per capita to compare the wealth amongst the races are of shallow thinking. the reason why chinese are having higher income per capita is becos our head count is low, thus causing the based value of the calculation to the lower.
[SK] Please DO NOT hijack the topic by telling us the human production statistic. The context here is about Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysians, don’t bring racial issues into the discussion, stick to the topic!
Actually Rezal Abee only made LKY point. His piece on confirm how most Malays just don’t get it about what harm is being done against their fellow-citizen. Rezal Abee logic is that if a victim overcome great odds and harm, then its proof that criminal is NOT guilty? It seems being hardworking and smart and giving sacrfice to benefit evil and perpetrator is justice to people that agree with Rezal Abee
This kind of logic only confirm what LKY said its neigbours would like it to be..
lubokmelayu
it’s not my intention to get into an unproductive discussion. both dirty harry and mahathir are brainy chaps. no one has denied that. dr mahathir is respected in many ways. so is harry lee. harry lee has made singapore what it is today. but that’s no big achievement because he worked on easy material and no subsidy mentality. dr mahathir has made advances that even harry has to admire but the subsidy mentality in malaysia is preventing the country from being truly glorious.
and what’s so obvious about harry’s observation? i think hishamuddin, kj and the lot making all the noise with the keris drawn out can answer this. period.
I thought LKY’s comments are correct.
Malaysia do have official discriminatory policies engrained in its public policy, and therefore Malaysian Chinese are systematically marginalized. Malaysian Chinese leaders from MCA and Gerakan are also compliant to the whims and fancies of UMNO. The Malaysian Chinese are also compliant to the point where we practice self censorship whenever it comes to ’sensitive’ issues.
And yes, the government do want Singapore to be compliant to Malaysia. I mean, which government does not want to exert strategic influence on its neighbors? I’m sure Singapore wants Malaysia to be compliant too!
The disturbing phenomena is that politicians still try to delude the ‘rakyat’ that Chinese are not discriminated against with their doublespeak. Well, I believe Mahathir himself admitted that Chinese are discriminated against just before he stepped down from power.
Whether discrimination is a worthy sacrifice for peace, or whether it is beneficial for the recipients of the affirmative action, are different topics altogether.
The remarks by Lee Kuan Yew must be seen in proper context.
LYK gave a speech during the IMF/World bank meeting in Singapore on 15 Sep 2006 (Raffles Forum: Reflections on Good Governance). The above controversial remarks was made during the Q&A session in response to questions from the floor regarding "the little red-dot" surrounded by green, the famous dressing down by former Indonesian PM Habibie years ago. Habibie wanted LKY to endorse him together with the Chinese in Indonesia and he refused. Also, he mentioned about the causeway/crooked bridge problem with Malaysia (Mahathir).
Watch the video first and comment.
Raffles Forum: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew: Reflections on Good Governance
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 (Q&A where LKY make the remark)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/s2006/raffles-lky.htm
Quote LKY:
"My hope is that there will be a government as equal to the job as the PAP was.
"We’ve structured the system such that the competent group that gets in will find a machine that works … run the system properly on the basis of merit, not nepotism, and you’ll always find a way out of a problem."
"At the end of the day, what every citizen wants is a good life, security, good health, good housing, good education and a future for their children. That’s good governance,"
LKY may have said something that stirred its neighbours, but that’s how the paranoid neighbours confronting the truth! If there isn’t such a issue or it never exists, it would be reponded with a big laugh and I’m sure LKY would have a new nickname. The outcome was obvious, and facing the truth is never the neighbours’ political and economic strategy, as long as they can pretend it never exists. The world would have responded negatively to LKY statement, but that isn’t the case except the expected responds from the parties who can’t face the truth. Judging the resource availability and the size of the country, how would one can imagine Singapore could become a developed nation with considerably highest GDP in the world? Are the popolution in Singapore both majority and minority marginalized and compilant as compared to it’s neighbour impartial economic policy? I bet none of these neigbours can answer the question truthfully! Yet you would hear the remarks from an individual with complete unfounded statement which is a totally personal makeup remarks like… "But when he goes to China, the Chinese there don’t want to listen to him. The Chinese in China don’t think much of him and it is a fact that he is marginalised by Chinese in the world". Such remark speaks for itself and it is indeed a laughing stock to me as a Chinese citizen in China. Contrary, we respect LKY (as a Chinese) for his remarkable achievement, and there are many social and economic aspects we can learn from Singapore! What creditability this individual has claiming the Chinese in China don’t listen to a Chinese ethnic in Singapore who shares the similar cultural background?
anyone can say 10 negative things about a hyundai car. anyone can also say 10 negative things about a rolls royce. what is the purpose? what is the repercussion? LKY is not a fool. He just figure that the purpose is just more important than the fallout.
It is the Malaysian government who took out the topic. The government wish to bring down the chinese government of Pulau Pinang that time, the DAP stated that one and only area administrate by one Chinese will not affect the Malay status all over Malaysia. The government then stated Singapore Chinese government has neglected Malays in their country. I think the Malaysian government are very selfish. LEE was correct, we chinese gave Malaysia so much, and all we ask for is a Malysian Malaysia, not a Malay Malaysia.
Historically, Lee Kwan Yew’s speeches has always been twisted and re-twsted by the Malaysian Malay Politicians to arose anger towards the Chinese. From the 1950s…
All Chinese Malaysians and Chinese Indonesians knows exactly how the Gov’t treats them. From their great grand parents, to their grand parents to their parents, to themselves and to their children. A recent evident was the Asia economic during 1998. THIS IS A FACT that Dr Mahathir has repeatedly deny publicly. How the Malaysian and Indonesian Gov’t attidutes towards the Chinese shows how these Gov’t see Singapore is no secrets.