Singapore Malaysia Relations

The problem is not with Singapore but Malaysia. This is the view expressed by Anwar Ibrahim at a seminor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies yesterday. Some may not agree with him, but reading his comments carefully, there is a lot of truth in what he said. We are two closely knit neighbours and we could benefit a lot by working closely together. He admitted that Singapore can be very tough in negotiation. But that is negotiation and should not affect the relations between the two states. Malaysia can also be tough when negotiating with Singapore but both can find common ground instead of inciting racial hatred between Malays and Chinese. And this racial element is not only affecting relations between the two states but also the internal politics of Malaysia. Malaysia has a lot to gain by working closely with their Chinese and the Singapore Chinese instead of silly bickering for political mileage.