Malaysia Here We Come !

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 11:51 PM
Singapore, Malaysia add air travel destinations ( JAKARTA POST EXCERPT)
The Associated Press , Singapore | Tue, 04/14/2009 6:12 PM | World

Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to increase air travel between the two Southeast Asian neighbours amid a regional slump in tourism.

Under the new agreement, carriers from both countries may operate between Singapore and six new destinations in Malaysia - Ipoh, Kuala Teregganu, Kuantan, Malacca, Sandakan, and Tawau, Singapore's Transport Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

It also allows for more flights to Penang, Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, the ministry said.

"The enhanced connectivity further boosts economic and tourism linkages between our two countries," said Choi Shing Kwok, the ministry's permanent secretary. "This is especially important in the current economic climate."

Singapore, an island city-state about a mile off the coast of Malaysia, is reeling from its worst recession on record. The government said Tuesday that the economy plummeted nearly 20 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, its biggest contraction ever.

Tourist arrivals fell 13 percent in January from a year earlier and 15 percent in February.
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"Competition and Cooperation -
Malaysia's Developments and the Implications for Singapore"
2004 SIIA-NIE-USP/NUS-NTU Student Seminar,
18 September 2004,
National University of Singapore

As part of its continuing mission to reach out to young people to interest them in regional and international affairs, SIIA, together with its partner organisations, the University Scholars' Programme of the National University of Singapore, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, organised the annual Student Seminar to discuss the complex relationship between Singapore and Malaysia.

This relationship encompasses geography, economics, security, social ties, and the history of one country becoming two sovereign states. To share with the students a more official perspective of how we view this complex relationship was Irene Ng, Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC, and Deputy Chairman of the GPC on Foreign Affairs and Defence. In her keynote address "Singapore and Malaysia - Partners in Progress?", Ms Ng argued that Malaysia and Singapore have to see each other more as partners in progress and less as rivals in a world of cut-throat competition.

All countries have neighbours and some may have had a more difficult history with their neighbours than others. But this does not mean that present and future relationships with their neighbours have to be a difficult one. Singapore and Malaysia should not lose sight of the areas of synergy in the economic arena, and at the same time, also examine other areas of co-operation outside the economic field.

Both countries also need to take stock of the current state of bilateral relations and take an open and mature approach towards outstanding bilateral issues. Ms Ng also cautioned that while the change in leadership, particularly in Malaysia, has contributed to an improved atmosphere in bilateral ties, the fundamental dynamics of relations are systemic and not personality driven. The management of bilateral relations is a long-term process. Therefore we should not be complacent when things go well. Neither should we get overly affected when things go sour. Being in such close relationship, it is important not to allow specific issues or disagreements affect the overall substance of this.

To further understand and examine the developments in Malaysia, two experts were invited to share their insights with the students. The speakers were Dr K. S. Jomo, Professor from the Department of Applied Economics, University of Malaya, and Dr Lee Hock Guan, a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Dr Jomo gave a long historical overview of our bilateral ties and the economic history of Malaysia from the nineteenth century to the early 1970s. He also explained the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore during the British rule and the loose alliance that existed between Singapore and Malaysia before the final exit of the British. Already at that time, tensions existed between the then Straits Settlements and the other Malay states. It was essentially a tension between the centre and the periphery.

The short political union of Singapore and Malaysia in 1963-1965 was an exceptional phase in our history. Many historical tensions and underlying problems needed to be addressed after the separation of Singapore from Malaysia. Such tensions will remain as long as economic competition remains, and only a change of mindset and discourse with the correct understanding of the history of our relations would set the right framework for improved ties. The relationship between Singapore and Malaysia had undergone certain changes, especially in relation to security issues, after 9-11. Dr Jomo ended his lecture with the call for a change of mindsets for both Singapore and Malaysia in relation to underlying cultural and ethnic differences. Initiatives like track-2 and track-3 diplomacy would be important and pertinent towards the changing of existing mindsets.

Dr Lee carried on from Dr Jomo's lecture with an in-depth discussion on the character and complex cultural dimensions of ethnic relations in Malaysia. The challenge of managing a multi-racial and multi-lingual state came to a head when non-Malays were granted citizenship in 1969. However, after the 1969 racial riots, the character of ethnic relations has undergone tremendous changes. Malay political and cultural dominance were imposed and increasingly recognised at the same time while mechanisms were put in place to manage ethnic relations. By the 1990s, because of a fragmented non-Malay community, demographic shifts and many other reasons, Malay political dominance is now indisputable. The competition between ethnic groups is replaced by more intense intra-Malay competition. Also, while political dominance is indisputable, the growing importance of China led to the recognition by UMNO that they cannot marginalise the Chinese, politically as well as culturally, in their coalition.

At the Question and Answer session, Asad Latif, a journalist with the Straits Times, asked the speakers if all the problems of ASEAN will disappear if the Kra Canal becomes a reality. Dr Jomo commented that if the Kra Canal were built, there would probably be a significant change in maritime communication and that would render the Singapore and Tanjong Pelepas ports almost redundant. Also, if the Thais were to get their act together and a new airport is built, Thailand will succeed in challenging Changi Airport as the region's hub for air traffic since travel within Asia is much more effective with Bangkok as the hub. Singapore will then lose its status as a hub for air transport. However, Prof Jomo also noted that even if these were to happen, Singapore would be able to rise to these challenges because its economy has been significantly diversified. In another question about the new leadership in Malaysia, Prof Jomo cautioned about the diversities represented in the new leadership. However, Dr Lee was more positive and noted that the new leaders of Malaysia represent the modern educated Malays, and with Prime Minister's Badawi gentle touch as compared to Dr Mahathir's ham-fisted ways, ethnic relations within Malaysia and bilateral ties between Malaysia and Singapore may get better.