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© The Straits Times, Singapore (Used by permission)

THANK you for your letter of Sept 25, 2006.

I made the remarks in a free-flowing dialogue session with former US secretary of treasury Larry Summers before many foreign delegates attending the IMF/WB meeting. To put what Reuters reported into context, I set out the transcript of the relevant passage:

'Let me sum it up nicely, why you must have a government in Singapore which is really firm, stout-hearted, subtle and resolute. My neighbours both have problems with their Chinese. They are successful, they are hardworking and, therefore, they are systematically marginalised, even in education. There are quotas to prevent you. So, you've got to make money to go abroad or go to one of the private universities which are being set up. And they want Singapore, to put it simply, to be like their Chinese, compliant. So, every time, we say 'No' to some scheme to knock down the Causeway and build a bridge, he says, 'Oh, you're not cooperative, you're only thinking of yourself.' For no rhyme or reason, we knock down a causeway, nearly 100 years old, which served us well. He wants to build a bridge because it looks pretty and he says ships will sail and his containers can move from the East Coast to the West Coast via this. But we saw no... So, we said, 'All right, if you give us commensurate benefits, we'll agree'. But you need a government who'll be able to, not only have the gumption, but the skill to say 'No' in a very quiet, polite way that doesn't provoke them into doing something silly.'

On the bridge and the half bridge to remove the Causeway, you made the position of your government clear; that Malaysia respects legally binding agreements and acts in accordance with international law. This made unnecessary a reference to ITLOS and the International Court of Justice that would otherwise have been unavoidable. This respect for the law is the basis for sound long-term relations between us.

I was explaining to a liberal audience of Westerners who wanted to see a stronger opposition in Singapore, why Singapore needs a strong majority government, not a weak coalition that will hamper us in defending our national interests.

Singapore needs a strong government to maintain good relations with Indonesia and Malaysia, and to interact with Indonesian and Malaysian politicians who consider Singapore to be Chinese, and expect Singapore to be 'sensitive' and comply with their requests.

On numerous occasions UMNO leaders, including Dr Mahathir and many others, have publicly warned Malaysian Malays that if they ever lose power, they risk the same fate as Malays in Singapore, whom they allege are marginalised and discriminated against (see Annex*). And from time to time, when Malaysian politicians attack Singapore fiercely over some bilateral issue, some of them tell us privately that we should just accept this as part of Malaysian politics and not react to these attacks.

Singapore understands the reality of Malaysian politics. We have never protested at these attacks on our multiracial system or our policies, except to clarify our own position when necessary. But we have to explain to our people the root cause of these difficulties in our bilateral relations. Otherwise, Singaporeans will believe that their own government is doing wrong, either to our own people or to Malaysia.

As for the international audience, with so many foreign embassy staff and foreign correspondents reporting on Singapore and Malaysia, plus tens of thousands of expatriate businessmen working in our two countries, these people will come to their own judgment of the true position, regardless of what I say.

I have not said anything more than what I have said many times before. In fact, I have said less than what I had written in my memoirs published in 1998. I had no intention to meddle in your politics. Indeed I do not have the power to influence Malaysia's politics or to incite the feelings of the Chinese in Malaysia.

Since you took over as Prime Minister in November 2003, relations between our two countries have much improved. Singaporeans, and I believe, Malaysians too, appreciate this.

I am sorry that what I said has caused you a great deal of discomfort. After a decade of troubled relations with your predecessor, it is the last thing I wanted.

Yours sincerely,
Lee Kuan Yew

PS: The fact that you have written to me is now well publicised. As I have been asked about my reply, I will have to release my letter to the media after you have received it.

* The Annex lists numerous media reports on Malaysian leaders talking about the alleged marginalisation of Singapore Malays.

MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has been strongly criticised in Malaysia for his recent comments on Chinese in the country.

In a letter yesterday to Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, MM Lee explained the context of his remarks and said sorry for the discomfort he caused Datuk Seri Abdullah.

The Minister Mentor also noted that on numerous occasions many Umno leaders, including former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, had alleged that Malays in Singapore were marginalised and discriminated against.

His letter contained an annex listing several occasions when such remarks were made:

No: 1.

Date: 3 Sep 06

Who: Umno Youth Deputy Chief Khairy Jamaluddin

Where: China Press

What: Khairy was reported to have said that the Malays in Penang faced the same fate of being marginalised as those in Singapore and that many of them were forced to move elsewhere.

No: 2.

Date: 28 Aug 06

Who: Deputy Health Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad

Where: The Star

What: This article reported that at the Bukit Mertajam Umno delegates' conference, the Bukit Mertajam Umno division called on Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon to give up the Penang Water Supply Corporation Sdn Bhd Chairman's post to Umno. The division chief alleged that Dr Koh had 'snatched' the chairman's post away from Umno.

Deputy Health Minister Abdul Latiff, who opened the conference, said that he sympathised with Penang Malays because 'I understand they do not want to end up becoming like the Malays in Singapore'.

Date: 29 May 05

Who: Former PM Mahathir Mohd

Where: Mingguan Malaysia

What: After a visit to Palestine, Mahathir was asked what advice he had for the younger generation so that they would understand the Palestinian crisis.

Mahathir replied that when he was Education Minister, a Palestinian professor had told him that Malaysians should be grateful for their good fortune. Mahathir added: 'Let us not go far. Look at Singapore. Do we want to be like Muslim Malays in Singapore? Yet we are not grateful and have not taken steps to ensure that our country will not suffer the same plight'.

Date: 3 Oct 02

Who: Then PM Mahathir Mohd

Where: Bernama

What: At a dialogue held in conjunction with the third 'Malay and Islamic World Convention' in Malacca, Mahathir said that Malaysia's Malays might become a minority group like the Malays in Singapore if they continue to quarrel among themselves and do not work hard.

On 3 Oct 02 in Bernama, he was quoted as saying that there were groups that claimed that the Singapore Malays were better off than Malaysian Malays, 'but the fact as can be seen now is that Singapore Malays are not given the opportunity to hold high posts in various fields such as the military.'

He said that Malays in Malaysia were at one time nearly reduced to the same fate as Singapore Malays, a minority race, but that they were saved by the economic depression in 1930, when many Chinese and Indians returned to their home countries.

Date: 26 Aug 02

Who: Then PM Mahathir Mohd

Where: Bernama

What: At a Puteri UMNO information session, Mahathir warned that if the Malays continued to be disunited and questioned every move the government made, they would be marginalised, not just in Penang but all over the country. He said a worse fate would befall them if they were also lazy to improve their standard of living.

He said: 'This will lead to the degradation of their race, not just in Penang but all over the country.' He added that 'The Malays in this country must not forget. At one time we were almost like Singapore and we must remember that in the 30s the migrants formed the majority of the population.'

However, Mahathir denied the claim that few economic opportunities had been given to Malays. He said that 'we have given them substantial economic opportunities...but sometimes what we gave them, they gave to other people instead.'

Date: 11 Dec 00

Who: Then PM Mahathir Mohd

Where: Bernama

What: In response to Suqiu (Malaysian Chinese Organisation's Election Appeals Committee) call for equal rights and meritocracy, Mahathir said that meritocracy was used as an excuse for blocking and oppressing native people of their rights by immigrant communities as seen in what he described as an 'immediate neighbouring country and other nations'. He added that '...we've seen how natives of the land become marginalised, impoverished and have no role in the government in the name of so-called equal rights ad meritocracy.'

Following Mahathir's remarks, Utusan Malaysia (UM) carried a front-page article entitled 'Singapore Deliberately Weakens The Malays' based on Lily Zubaidah Rahim's 'The Singapore Dilemma: The Political Educational Marginality of the Malay Community', which claimed that the Singapore Government had over the years actively marginalised the Malays in Singapore. This was followed by a spate of comments by Malaysian politicians on the issue, for example:

12 Dec 00: Mohd Ruzi Jamil (President of the Kedah Federation of Peninsular Malay Students) said that Singapore Malays' weakness in education and the economy was caused by political pressure imposed by the Republic's leaders. He stressed that many of the Malay rights have been withdrawn and they are not given equal opportunities to compete with other races in the country.

14 Dec 00: BN Senator Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman said in Parliament that 'by keeping quiet, PAS wants the Malay community in the country to face the same fate as the Malays in Singapore who have been neglected by the republic's government although the Singapore Constitution demands that the rights of the Malays in that country be protected'.

21 Dec 00: Tan Sri Aziz Tapa (UMNO Veteran and former Malacca State Assembly Speaker) said that 'I think that there is no need for a dialogue because we know the motives of Suqiu are the same as DAP: to turn Malaysia into something like Singapore.'

Date: Dec 00 to Jan 01

Who: Various

Where: Various

What: During the Suqiu controversy, following Mahathir's comments as listed immediately above, there was also a media campaign in the Malaysian papers attacking Singapore for marginalising the Malays. Reports that were published included those listed below:

* 13 Dec 00 - UM - 'Singapore Marginalises the Malay Community'

* 13 Dec 00 - UM - 'Singapore Malays' Weakness is due to Political Pressure'

* 16 Dec 00 - UM - 'Suqiu making Malays Here Have the Same Plight as Malays in Singapore'

* 19 Dec 00 - New Straits Times - 'Meritocracy comes under Attack'

* 21 Dec 00 - UM - 'Living in Isolation in own Country'

* 26 Dec 00 - UM - 'Penang Malays follow Singapore's footsteps'

* 5 Jan 01 - UM - 'Suqiu: Learn form [sic] Singapore's Problem'

Date: 23 Aug 98

Who: Then Special Advisor to UMNO Jelebu Division

(Note: He is now Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage)

Where: UM

What: He accused Singapore of 'denying the right of Malays to hold senior positions in the SAF.'

He also said that 'the issue of Malays being neglected in such a way actually is not a diplomatic issue but is an ethnic issue which insults everyone who calls themselves a Malay. Now we can ask, what has become of the meritocracy policy which is shouted by Singapore all this while?'

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