Mr. Desker choice of story was brilliant. Not only telling the truth but also displaying our knowledge and intimacy with our neighbors. Permit me to quote him especially when ST might void that link to the article eventually.
I had the experience of meeting a friend from my posting in Jakarta at the Nadaman restaurant in Singapore. He owed his creditors US$500 million and was a fugitive but had left Indonesia legally and was carrying a valid Indonesian passport. He left the restaurant after paying my bill with his diamond credit card! I was hosting some of my former colleagues and was surprised when I wanted to pay at the end of our meal, so I asked the manager to see the bill. As the credit card was from one of his creditor banks, I concluded that we had all enjoyed the hospitality of his bankers!
I seldom post any comments, but our relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia are starkly different. Despite the rhetoric from the politicians, the bilateral ties between us is much stronger than you think. If prabowo was elected then, the relationships would have be much better considering he is surharto era insider. As for Malaysia it was more of friend-enemy relationship, despite the sound bites from media it is not as rosy. Things only got better when najib come to power why.... There are some speculation but l will not bring it here. My 2 cents
ReplyDeleteThanks Darren. I agree with you that our relationship with Malaysia is different that with Indonesia. Nevertheless the way Barry Desker had written his piece possess lessons for Bilahari Kausikan to go about it.
DeleteNow allow me to quote William Choong a fellow at International Institute for Strategic Studies. He wrote in 2013 reminding us
Closer to home, Singapore’s relations with Malaysia and Indonesia have improved markedly in recent years. But this cannot be taken for granted. Dr Tim Huxley, author of Defending the Lion City, puts it nicely. Relations with these two countries, he notes, have often been ‘characterised by rivalry and tension’.
History bears this out. In 1991, Malaysia and Indonesia conducted a joint military exercise. Code-named Malindo Darsasa 3AB, it involved an airborne assault by paratroopers in the south of the Malaysian state of Johor. This raised concerns among Singaporeans, with some reading the scheduling of the airdrop on 9 August, Singapore’s 26th National Day, as being unnecessarily provocative.
In 1998, the Malaysian Armed Forces were put on alert, Mr David Boey, formerly this newspaper’s defence correspondent, wrote. Then, politicians on both sides of the Causeway argued over the status of the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) checkpoint at Malaysia’s railway station in Tanjong Pagar.
I feel safer with Jokowi than the mercurial and volatile Prabowo. Remember who gave us that Little Red Dot moniker. It was Habibie, a Suharto insider. By the way 1991, Suharto was still President. Best friends with LKY. Wonder how it counted if we did not have a strong SAF.
As what Tim Huxley in the same book if iremember correctly we are a poison shrimp. Anyway the relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia is even more complex one. One that is colour with race and religion. Just remember Indonesian don't see themselves as "malay" and Malaysians don't see Indonesian as "good" Muslim. Was there any joint exercise between after 1991 I am not sure but what I am sure is the ties between tni and saf is very very tight. As for our causeway neighbor.... From a strategic level our policy tend to see the 2 as the same. It is lucky we have ambassador Barry desker and other professors i have worked that build our relationship and knowledge about Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteOne last thing, with the way domestic politics is developing in Indonesia, prabowo will be back if his health permits according to people in the know. We shall see if he will be a better partner than jokowi
ReplyDeleteThat is true, we don't really know. Just to let you know that your comments are appreciated.
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