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War of words erupts between M’sian lawmaker, S’pore envoy

KUALA LUMPUR — A war of words has broken out between Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Bilahari Kausikan and Malaysian opposition lawmaker Tony Pua over a commentary written by the envoy earlier this week in which he labelled Malaysians of Chinese origin as “delusional” for seeking to change a Malay-dominated political landscape.

Mr Bilahari Kausikan had written that Malaysia’s Chinese youth have forgotten the lessons from the 1969 racial riots and are ‘delusional’ in their perceived attempt to change a system built around the principle of Malay dominance. Photo: INSTITUTE OF POLICY STUDIES

Mr Bilahari Kausikan had written that Malaysia’s Chinese youth have forgotten the lessons from the 1969 racial riots and are ‘delusional’ in their perceived attempt to change a system built around the principle of Malay dominance. Photo: INSTITUTE OF POLICY STUDIES

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KUALA LUMPUR — A war of words has broken out between Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Bilahari Kausikan and Malaysian opposition lawmaker Tony Pua over a commentary written by the envoy earlier this week in which he labelled Malaysians of Chinese origin as “delusional” for seeking to change a Malay-dominated political landscape.

Mr Pua stated today (Oct 8) that Malaysians who joined August’s anti-government rally organised by electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 (believed to be attended by mostly Chinese) were there purely to demand accountability from the government and not to pursue racial dominance.

“They were angry, frustrated and galvanised to act in the light of the tens of billions of ringgit embezzled and misappropriated by 1MDB (state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad), as well as the obscene RM2.6 billion (S$870 million) donation deposited into the prime minister’s personal bank account.

“I’m proud to be a Malaysian to see hundreds of thousands of Malaysians march the streets of Kuala Lumpur to demand free and fair elections, integrity and accountability from the ruling government against all odds,” Mr Pua of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) said in a statement.

Mr Pua said there needs to be a distinction between the principle of Malay “dominance” and Malay “supremacy” — the opposition is against the latter. Mr Pua said that no one denies that Malays will dominate the sphere of politics and economy in the country since they comprise the majority in demographic terms.

In a commentary published on Tuesday, Mr Kausikan opined that the Malaysia’s Chinese youth have forgotten the lessons from the 1969 racial riots and are “delusional” in their perceived attempt to change a system built around the principle of Malay dominance, among other issues discussed. Singapore’s former Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs also warned that should they succeed in bringing in a new system, it will only lead to even more rigorous enforcement of Malay dominance with less space for non-Muslims.

Mr Kausikan noted that former Premier Mahathir Mohamad’s grievances with his successors were their warming of ties with Singapore.

He said Dr Mahathir wanted to replace Prime Minister Najib Razak with someone more pliable, while Mr Najib understood that Malaysia and Singapore needed each other.

Mr Kausikan’s article also suggested that it was better to deal with someone more familiar and that “some systems will be easier to work with than others”.

Responding to Mr Pua’s comments, Mr Kausikan wrote in a Facebook post today that “one of the most common forms of delusion in political affairs is to mistake one’s hopes and dreams for reality or to believe that if one wishes fervently enough for something it will become reality”.

The envoy said he does not begrudge Mr Pua, his hopes and his dreams, but Mr Kausikan feared that “this particular hope and dream may well lead to disaster; it did in the past and if it happens again Singapore — my sole concern — cannot but be affected. So my hope is that whatever their dreams, the DAP’s policies will be made during their waking hours.”

Picking away at Mr Kausikan’s opinion piece, Mr Pua said today it was clear that the diplomat was only interested in having a neighbour whose government is pliant, regardless of the fact that its top leader is faced with a multi-billion-ringgit scandal. He also criticised the envoy for what he perceived as “unapologetic selfish and arrogant views” that only cemented the perception of Singapore as the “contemptible Shylock of South-east Asia”.

In a separate statement, Dr Ong Kian Ming, another DAP lawmaker said the growing civil society movement against Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is reflective of the global trend where long-entrenched regimes are eventually removed by the people. However, he conceded that much needs to be done before a broad-based opposition can win the elections.

“Ambassador Kausikan is right to say that Singapore has no choice but to work with whatever system or leader emerges in Malaysia.

“But, one cannot help but wonder if his fears about a possible transition in power in Malaysia, especially one that is peaceful and well-ordered, is driven more by his fears of such a possibility in Singapore in the distant but foreseeable future than for his concern of what might happen in Malaysia,”

Dr Ong said. AGENCIES

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