The Sleeping Malays In Mighty Singapore

Dr M Provokes Singapore Malays

Dr Mahathir said recently that the Malays in Singapore were marginalised and lagged behind the other communities. — File pic

SINGAPORE, Jan 20 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is at the centre of a storm after he stirred up the Malay community here with his comments on their position in the republic. Many readers of the Singapore Berita Harian resented the former Malaysian Prime Minister for saying that the Malays on the island were marginalised and lagged behind the other communities.
The paper has been publishing the response of readers to the comments that it published, and some of the letters expressed real anger.
One reader, Sallim Ahmad, said that it had become Dr Mahathir’s theme that “the Singapore Malays are being marginalised until the end of world.”
But the Malays here are progressing without subsidies and the position of Islam is protected although it is not the official religion, Sallim said.
Another reader, Kamariah Lim Li Hwa, hoped that Dr Mahathir would “investigate first our condition” before making any statement on the Singapore Malays.
“We the Malays of Singapore feel at ease and are grateful that the Singapore rulers execute our trust with transparency,” she said.
A letter from Eusope Musawa asserted that Singapore Malays lived in comfort and as equals with the other communities.
“Tun Dr Mahathir should advise Malaysian Malays to learn from Singapore Malays how to progress,” Eusope said.
Other readers were far less polite, using insulting phrases to refer to Dr Mahathir.
But one reader who called himself Walid Jumblatt Abdullah differed from them.
Walid said he was very happy to see Singapore Malays react with such alacrity to refute Dr Mahathir.
“How wonderful it would be if the Malay community (in Singapore) were to react with similar speed to handle such problems as dysfunctional families, moral decay and academic performance that is unsatisfactory and below that of the other races,” he said.
He said that Dr Mahathir had his weaknesses but the former Malaysian Prime Minister, whom some readers called “a senile old man”, had turned Malaysia into one of the Asian economic tigers.
He is the only Malay leader known throughout the world and is highly respected in the Islamic world, not least for his championing of such causes as Palestine, Bosnia and Somalia, Walid said.
Walid said that four non-governmental organisations, two of them Christian groups, nominated Dr Mahathir for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“As far as I know, he is the first Malay leader to be nominated for the prize,” Walid said. — Bernama

Source: Malaysian Insider - January 20, 2011
 

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Ridhuan Tee: Singapore’s Might Will ‘Eat’ Us Up

By Shannon Teoh

Lee said Singapore needed a strong defence to be able to stand up to its neighbours. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — Singapore will “eat” Malaysia if the government does not prepare its military defence to face the “Jewish protégés”, Utusan Malaysia columnist Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah claimed today. In his column today, he suggested that Singapore would use its military might to create a “second or third Singapore,” while pointing to the Pakatan Rakyat-led Penang state government as potential contenders.
“The time of good faith and playing with them is over. Now is the time to work to face up to them. If they can prepare RM35.5 billion for defence in that small country, surely we must spend more than that. If not, we will be ‘eaten’ one day, believe me,” the senior lecturer at the National Defence University of Malaysia wrote.
He called on the government to take the best steps to face “the little Jews before the rice becomes porridge,” using the Malay proverb that means something regrettable that cannot be undone.
“The enemy is watching us. They are waiting for the chance to ‘enter’ at the right time.
“At that time, it will be too late to fight back. Can weapons made of stone match fighter jets and tanks as what is happening in Palestine? Allah wants us to learn from these events of the past.
“We need to remember, the leaders of Penang are always going there to look for ideas. Will there be a second or third Singapore, or more?” he said.
Tee was referring to a Singapore Sunday Times interview with the island republic’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who said that without a strong armed forces, it would be vulnerable to pressure from Malaysia and Indonesia.
“Without a strong defence, there will be no Singapore,” Lee said in the interview. “It will become a satellite, cowed and intimidated by its neighbours.”
“If we do not have this strong SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), we are vulnerable to all kinds of pressures from both Malaysia and Indonesia,” he said.
“We are not vulnerable? They can besiege you. You’ll be dead,” Lee said.
“If we are not vulnerable, why do we spend 5 to 6 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) year after year on defence,” he continued. “Are we mad? This is a frugal government.”
Although Tee acknowledged that this was true from a strategic and security standpoint, he said that the statement was “arrogant” as “without the help of Malaysia, Singapore would not exist.”
Tee pointed out that Singapore was once a Malay island and if Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had arrested Lee, who later became Singapore’s first prime minister, and ordered a curfew before the two countries parted ways in 1965, the island would still belong to Malaysia.
He claimed that if our leaders then were not Muslims, or were communists instead, “Kuan Yew would have long ago been thrown into prison.”
Tee said that “we should have been as cruel as Kuan Yew, who throws those who oppose him into prison because he says they disturb the peace and planning of Singapore.”
In his column, he wrote that “in just over five years, Singapore spends what we have spent in the last 23 years” on defence, or RM180 billion.
This is despite Malaysia’s defence budget rising by more than five times from RM2.09 billion in 1987 to RM11.01 billion last year, making up for six per cent of the total government budget, said Tee.
“This amount is still small compared to our neighbour that is the actual threat to us. Are we not afraid of this new threat? Was losing Pulau Batu Putih not a lesson to us?” he wrote, referring to the dispute over Pedra Branca between Malaysia and Singapore.
He said that he was certain that the island would still belong to Malaysia had our military been able to defeat Singapore’s.
“Unfortunately, we continue to act in good faith and give ‘free service’ such as water to that ‘evil’ nation. Have they ever remembered our good deeds?” he asked.
He said that Malaysia was now afraid of “a small nation that depends on us for water. They win even that. We still appear to have lost, even though it belongs to us.”
Tee suggested that all our profits from oil and gas be used to develop our defences, claiming that if the RM50 billion of profits from national petroleum company Petronas were used for defence spending, “I am certain that in five years, Malaysia will emerge as a great nation in Asia and maybe globally.”

Source: The Malaysian Insider - January 20, 2011

Mr Lee, My Father And I

"The first thing you learn as a small country is to act small and humble. You go around telling people, they say you are out of your depth, you don't understand my problems. So we keep our mouth shut unless we are asked." 

I heard these statements in the 7am news.
It rings in my ears and I think, will stay there for a very long time.

Nothing is more than the truth as what was said by  Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
That's what I've been practising, or put it into practise although occasionally there's slip of the tongue or just had to trash things out.

We are in foreign land, we can only look, see, feel and taste any bitterness that comes along our way.

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Pride is very difficult for a normal being to do away with.
Live with ignorance... Yes.
But to live without pride?
Pride travels as far deep as into the jungle: A ______ of lion.

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Mr Lee was then speaking at the 20th annual conference of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association on the theme "Climate Change And Legal Practice" at the Marina Sands Convention Centre.

He does not think much will come out from the next round of talks in Cancun, as long as countries like the US, China and India keep to their stand on the issue although it is something that has real consequences many years down the road.
Even as the climate change talks last year weren't a complete failure, no country could commit itself.
No one could commit to reduce a percentage of carbon footprint although all cards are on the table.

The Chinese and the Indians would also not want to commit themselves.
There's more dilly-dallying internationally.
Every country focus on its own internal problems.
Everybody are into a very difficult, messy situation.
The governments in power promise the people a better life…
So the idea of taking tough action now against putting off to the future generation.
The result is - "Let's put it off and talk about it."

That's Mr Lee Kuan Yew...
I live with what he visualise, he did, and ... ALL FOR THE WORLD TO SEE.

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I was very, very small when there's a  'barongan'  to welcome his visit to where I was staying then - Not too faraway from Izhar's house, one of the  'Black Dog Bone's'  member.

All I can say is that Mr Lee Kuan Yew is a very, very, very far sighted Prime Minister.
There's just too much father figure in him.

Until today, I see My Father in him.

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My Father came to Singapore not out of poverty, but to seek knowledge.
He saw the Dutch that with knowledge they prosper.
Manipulating their knowledge in business, they monopolise trade in Indonesia and later colonise the country.

On My Father's journey to Singapore with his cousin, he saw many Japanese in Batam.
Japanese left their mark in Batam with a place called Nagoya - My Father learn to read, write and speak Japanese.

After the war, he married my Mother, who was 15 then, and still schooling.

She's The Only Girl in the school who's still attending class until 16.

The cousin, who hailed with him together from Kaliwungu, Kendal, adjourned to Johor where he became landlord, making and renting out houses.

When My Father was offered a piece of land in Johor by his cousin, My Father, though tempted, he had to refuse the land.
He priorotise the education of his eight children.
Ironically, as much as He valued education, I am the least schooled among the eight children.

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Too far sighted Mr Lee Kuan Yew was then, that he saw all Singaporeans: en-mass.
I lagged behind.
Thank GOD, because of the lagging behind that I ventured out of the study world.

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My Husband is also the product of not fitting into the local education system.
The only English-schooled Son in the Chinese educated family, His Malay language added many numbers to His aggregate, although He's an "A" student where schooling is concerned.

When all his Chinese childhood friends went to Australia, UK, US and Canada after their GCE, the only place he could venture out to further his education was, across the Causeway - to Stamford.

His Tailor Father who hailed from Kwantong (GuanDong), China, seemed resigned to fate - Whatever will be, will be.

My Husband could only console himself when he met one of his buddy, directing vehicles, trafficking himself in the middle of the busy Jalan Meldrum, JB, in his smart attire.
The good buddy was supposed to still furthering his study in UK then, but his mind just snapped.
Many years later, he was still stationing himself in the middle of Jalan Meldrum or Jalan Ah Fook, as usual, in his immaculate dressing: clean polo t-shirt, tucked neatly into his pressed slack, leather belt and clean sports shoes.

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Did My Father conform to His Father's wish? No.
My Grandfather wanted him to attend to his many acres of land but He chose to venture into a new, alien territory.
He was back to his home-village several times or there's always money to be sent home.
I was with Him when He went back to his village to subdivide his land among his living siblings.

By then, My Grandfather had already passed away but, Mr Lee Kuan Yew is still alive.

Did the current PM, follow his father's way of how Singapore should be run? No.
I remembered when Mr Lee Hsien Loong had just become a PM,
he stressed, "... it's ok to have a bit of rubbish here and a bit there. It's ok for the shrubs to be a bit overgrown or not trimmed..."
That's not exactly his sentence, but that's roughly what's being said.

Is the current PM bring up his children as he was being brought up? Neither.

I do not turn out as what My Father expected his children to be, but yes. I wish My Children to be an observant servant to THE CREATOR and Somebody whom the society can rely on, GOD Willing.

***Thanking My Late Father And Mr Lee Kuan Yew For Their Far Sightedness That My Husband And I Are Together. 

*Life is full of irony. I'm now living not far from where My Father's cousin had wanted My Father to build a house then.

*Before my last visit to My Father's homeland a couple of years ago, I visited My Father's cousin a day before the departure.
He wept claiming how fortunate My Late Father, even after He's no more alive, His Children do return to where Their Father came from.
- Since the 2 of them left home, the cousin had never set foot again back to his hometown.

-10 minutes after I left My Father's cousin's house with his latest photographs to be shown back to his family in Kaliwungu, Kendal, Indonesia, I was called back to the house - he passed away.
Mission accomplished?

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***Late posting as there's sudden black-out starting at 6.58pm when I was halfway doing this until 9.46pm when we were out having dinner. The  black-out  stretched 6 miles away.