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Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew returns to old lion's den
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-25 20:22
Modern Singapore's founding father puts his seal on warmer relations with
neighbour Malaysia this week when he makes his first visit to the Malaysian
capital since 2001, when ties were badly frayed.
Lee Kuan Yew, who turned his tiny state into an economic force after it split
from Malaysia in 1965, is a controversial figure among Malaysia's ethnic Malay
majority which feared at the time his mainly ethnic Chinese political party
might dominate.
Lee, 81, travelling to Kuala Lumpur to speak at an anti-corruption
conference, is due to pay a courtesy call on Tuesday on Malaysian Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose ascent to power 18 months ago marked a watershed in
relations.
"This has nothing to do with bilateral matters," a Singapore embassy official
said, explaining that Lee, now the country's third-ranking minister as "minister
mentor", was visiting merely to gauge the new mood in Malaysia, not hold
official talks.
Since Abdullah came to power in October 2003, replacing Lee's long-time
political sparring partner Mahathir Mohamad, the tone of bilateral relations has
improved, but actual political breakthroughs on a series of disputes have yet to
materialise.
The two countries are due on Tuesday to sign an agreement over one of their
smaller disputes, involving Singapore's land reclamation work in the thin strip
of sea that separates them, but resolution of major disputes has been more
elusive.
These include a decades-old row over the price of Malaysian water supplied to
Singapore, a Malaysian plan to replace a causeway across the Singapore Strait
with a modern bridge and a Malaysian railway line that runs into the heart of
Singapore.
BUSINESS LEADING THE WAY
Business and investment ties, by contrast, have flourished in tangible ways,
including Malaysian approval for Singapore state investment agency Temasek
Holdings to make strategic investments in the country's banking and
telecommunications sectors.
Investors see the next major test of these strengthening ties as the outcome
of a bid by Malaysian casino operator Genting Bhd to build two casinos in
Singapore, which recently announced an end to its ban on casino gambling.
"If Singapore really means it (about improving ties), they will give Genting
one of the casinos," said Richard Cohen, a senior vice-president at CIMB
Securities, adding that most major new investments had been from Singapore into
Malaysia.
Lee told Singapore's parliament this month that he found Genting's proposal
the most interesting of the 19 submitted by global casino operators.
On a lighter note, Singapore and Malaysia have also revived a cross-straits
musical gala after an eight-year hiatus.
Titled "Muzika Ekstravaganza", the musical was co-produced by the state
broadcasters of the two countries and was telecast live to audiences in both
countries on Saturday.
"These shows will strengthen the bonds and create an additional cultural
bridge between Singapore and Malaysia," Lee Boon Yang, Singapore's Minister for
Information, Communications and the Arts, told reporters on
Sunday.
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