9/29/2006
lets talk about the hypocrisy
Perhaps the time has come for ASEAN leaders to face the ugly truth squarely instead of pretending that everything is alright. Race is something that no one consciously choose to be. One is born a Malay, Indian, Chinese, English, German or whatever. We are stuck with whatever colour that we came by. There is no running away from this racial distinction by calling oneself an international citizen or a Singaporean, Malaysian or Australian. And associated with this racial thing is a primordial instinct to belong, to be identified with.
Imagine when the Indonesians were looting the Chinese shops and burning their houses, raping Chinese girls and killing Chinese Indonesians, and the Singapore leaders were feasting the Indonesian leaders at the Istana, pretending that everything is alright. We are Singaporeans and the Indonesian Chinese are Indonesians. Conversely, if the majority Chinese in Singapore were doing the same thing to their Malay counterparts while our leaders were having a feast in KL.
How much hypocrisy can one live with and get by without being prick by one's conscience or morals? Inhumane treatment of human beings, discriminations, victimisations, can never be tolerated regardless of race or whatever distinctions. And the injustice becomes that much closer when one's race or religion is being victimised. Just listen to the uproar over what the Pope said and how the Muslims feel aggrieved by the comments.
Perhaps LKY has assumed a new role in himself. It is no longer a domestic issue and he is speaking as an international statesman on an international issue. It is something that concerns him or any statesman around the world, the issue of treating every human being with respect, fairness and dignity.
Are the other ASEAN leaders up to the mark to discuss the issues or are they going to pretend that there were no such things in their countries but only happened in Singapore?
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10 comments:
I disagree. Why should we make somebody's problems ours ? The Indonesian and Malaysian Chinese are not Singaporeans. They may belong to the same race as the majority of Singaporeans but that's where the similarity ends. SIngapore has neither the resources nor the clout to act as a moral policeman for the region. Let the Malaysians and Indonesians sort out their own problems.
Luckily they don't read this...
Or else you'd be aggravating matters.
Hopefully it will die off.
Both the Mr Y and Mr B are having their own issues at home, and this happens... Not in the best of time.
Let me try this again...
I guess Singapore foreign policy has a Realist bent to it and a non-interventionist idea as well. This stems from the ASEAN non-intervention ideology.
Another thing is that morality and foreign policy is a Wilsonian kind of FP. I think Singapore's FP is more Hamiltonian.
hi vox leo,
welcome to the blog.
i fully agree with you as far as singapore's foreign policy is economics and survival driven. we are too inconsequential to think of driving the world's agenda though things are appearing quite different today when we hear people talking through their heads on wanting to be a voice of the world.
as for asean, its origin can be traced to the days of seato and american containment policy of the two communist giants and smaller countries were forced to take sides. asean was created to allow small countries to live on their own without foreign interference in their affairs, and to leave southeast asia a zone of neutrality.
but things are changing. we are starting to interfere in the domestic affairs of asean countries. the amount of pressure being exerted on myanmar is a departure from the principle of non interference. asean is getting too political and wilsonian.
hi elfred,
yudhoyono and badawi would not be visiting a blog like this. this is kopitiam talk : )
Hehehe... you know, they will always be busybodies. I am one... but I am quite open about things.
Well... regrettable event...
But it's best, and heng heng so, we stay bo-chap...
like i said earlier, i supported lky for saying this. there is no such thing as one party can throw rubbish into your courtyard and you can't do that to them.
if mahathir will to demand an apology lky will throw his letter into the rubbish bin. in the case of badawi, he has not mentioned any of such unpleasant remarks and rightly deserved an apology.
lky does not apologise to any tom, dick and harry.
See? He apologised.
You just don't understand MM.
In any case, MM has given the face for a bad move to Malaysia.
You see, Reddie, what's the more important thing compare to an apology...?
An unnecessary strained tie with a new PM, with a pile domestic political issues, with a Shin Coup, and bla bla bla...
But the way the apology letter is structured looks... amature.
Reddie... in political thinking... I still have the upper hand, compare to most, if not all, Singaporeans.
And lemme tell you a secret...
Forget it.
Just, politics isn't just a ball game, you hit me I slap you... or what. It's not always like that.
It's not that you bootlick you'd always be fine, or vice versa.
Some might think I stupid to become inactive... but it'd be probably the smartest move yet.
Politics... It's never about this or that. The last thing we should do now is to defend MM and stir up or maintain a storm that he has tried to calm down.
elfred,
no one is in a position to defend lky. and he is fully able to defend himself.
the whole episode has more deeper meaning and bigger objectives. lky has apologised, but also to settle an issue. hopefully the malaysian leaders understand that they cannot keep on digging at us and expect us to keep quiet and be compliant.
Frankly, the Malaysians and Indonesians should have just ignored the old fart. Really, by responding in such fashion, it can only lend credence to his remarks. LKY is into his last phase of his life on the planet. When he kicks the bucket, there will be no one left in Singapore with the sort of credibility and stature to be able to utter such offensive remarks about other countries. Then, finally we will have peace. RIP LKY.
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