TR EMERITUS

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal from The Malaysian Insider Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim slammed today Malaysia’s deal with Singapore in settling the longstanding dispute over KTM Berhad’s Tanjong Pagar railway station in the island state. Anwar said that the terms of agreement between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong were questionable as it was “shrouded in secrecy” and Malaysians were not aware of the real arrangement. “But some of the terms are questionable and we feel Malaysian interests should be protected. This is as usual, most of Najib’s agreements are shrouded in secrecy. “It’s (the agreements) not open. You always hide behind Khazanah but we dont know what’s the real arrangement,” Anwar told The Malaysian Insider in an interview today. The Pakatan Rakyat defacto leader said that the agreement which was announced yesterday raised concerns that Malaysia is seen to be too “submissive” in catering to Singapore’s demands. “There is a tendency that in the policy of Najib, like in the case of Barack Obama, he seems to be too submissive, agreeing, and there is a lot of concern. “Why is it we have now a Prime Minister that surrenders too easily?” asked Anwar. Following his meeting with Obama in April, the Najib administration had sided with Washington in its nuclear dispute with Iran. After receiving domestic criticisms, Najib was also forced to deny cutting gasoline supplies to Teheran. Najib and Lee agreed yesterday to relocate the 78-year-old Tanjong Pagar railway station operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) to Woodlands. The relocation, to take place on July 1 next year, marks a major step in resolving a number of outstanding bilateral issues between the two countries, as first reported by The Malaysian Insider last September 29. The two governments will also form a company to jointly develop parcels of land now owned by KTMB. Malaysia will soon will co-locate its railway and Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex to the Woodlands train checkpoint. Both countries also announced that a company, known as MS Pte Ltd, will be established no later than Dec 31 this year to jointly develop the parcels of land. Malaysia is to hold a 60 per cent stake in this company under Khazanah Nasional Berhad, while Singapore will have a 40 per cent share held by Temasek Holdings. The three parcels of land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands, along with another three pieces of land in Bukit Timah, will be vested by MS Pte Ltd for joint development, which in turn could be swapped on the basis of equivalent value for pieces of land in Marina South and/or Ophir-Rochor. The land swap has been contentious since the Malaysia-Singapore Points of Agreement (POA) was signed in 1990 over the issue of the future of the railway land. The POA was signed between former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and former Malaysian Finance Minister Tun Daim Zanuddin. Under the agreement, KTM was to vacate its historic station at Tanjong Pagar and move to Bukit Timah while all of KTM’s land between Bukit Timah and Tanjong Pagar would revert to Singapore. The land at Tanjong Pagar would be handed over to a private limited company for joint development — of which its equity would be split 60 per cent to Malaysia and 40 per cent to Singapore — as it is in the latest agreement. But the key contention was the interpretation of the agreement as Singapore insisted the agreement meant KTM had to move its terminal from Tanjong Pagar to Bukit Timah within five years of its construction, when the republic moved its railway immigration in August 1998. But Putrajaya said it would only be effective once it decided to move the station. The railway land was acquired under a 1918 colonial ordinance specifically for use by Malayan Railway (Keretapi Tanah Melayu or KTM) for a period of 999 years. That same ordinance limits the use of this land. The land, which the main railway station is situated on, is considered prime land. But Anwar stopped short of slamming Najib’s move in its entirety, and cautiously pointed out that he believed that bilateral ties with Singapore were of utmost importance. “I am for and support strong bilateral relations with Singapore... I must again stress I represent the view (that) the relations with Singapore is of paramount importance to us as a country and also economic terms,” said the former Deputy and Finance Minister. He explained that during his time as Finance Minister in the 1990s he had gone to Singapore to talk to then PM Goh Chok Tong about the terms of agreement, as it had not been cleared by the Cabinet or Attoney-General. “I am [currently] working on my statement but basically [the] point of agreement was between Mahathir and Kuan Yew. At the time [when][ I was Minister of Finance, Tun Mahathir asked me to check [the terms of agreement]. I checked it was never cleared by the Cabinet or A-G so there was a problem . “We had to go and explain to Goh Chok Tong that we will work [on the agreement]. “Although it is encouraging that we have major progress with negotiations with Singapore, [at the same time] these are prime economic and national interests and I think he [Najib] has to come out clean and explain details of the agreement,” said Anwar. In a press statement issued a few hours later, Anwar reiterated his points and claimed that the newly-inked agreement woukd not be able to “generate domestic economic activity.” “How many developers, contractors or Malaysian suppliers would be involved in the development of the M-S Pte Ltd?” Anwar said. The Permatang Pauh MP also demanded that Najib present a report of the Points of Agreement (POA) along with the new terms in the upcoming Parliamentary session in June. “We also want an explanation whether Najib had used the 1990 POA outlined by Tun Daim Zainuddin who was Finance Minister at the time, when it (the agreement) was not agreed by the Cabinet. The government should also explain the real situation on the issue of water and to reassess the prices of raw water supply to Singapore. “We urge Datuk Seri Najib to present a report in the next Parliamentary session in June,” said Anwar. - The Malaysian Insider  Read More →

A Singaporean by the name of Ginny Chia has written to the Straits Times Forum today complaining about the inability of PRC bus drivers to communicate in English. She recounted a personal unpleasant experience with a PRC bus driver: "I write with great concern over my recent unpleasant incidents with SMRT's bus drivers. On one occasion, I inquired if the bus - service 970 - would take me to Jalan Jurong Kechil, to which the bus driver, a Chinese national, simply shot me a blank stare. When I asked in Mandarin, he finally gave me a nod." This is not the first time such a complaint is being aired publicly. The Straits Times Forum has received a deluge of letters from its readers over the last few months about the "attitude" of PRC bus drivers. Ms Chia is incensed that bus drivers who are unable to speak English are offered jobs in Singapore: "It is the basic role of bus drivers to not only drive along the correct routes but also be able to communicate with passengers. And is English not our working language? Are the information boards at bus stops not printed in English?" Despite some unhappiness from the commuters, Singapore bus companies continue to mass recruit bus drivers from China, the latest being a recruitment exercise launched in Chengdu two months ago. The news was reported in a Sichuan newspaper, but censored by the Singapore media. (read article here) Ms Chia felt that the PRC bus drivers are employed due lower labor costs: "It may be cheaper to hire foreign labour; doing so may increase profits and make up for the decreasing number of Singaporeans who are willing to take on these jobs. However, it should in no way alienate the local community, many of whom do not understand Mandarin." However, the reality is that they are offered comparable salaries to Singaporeans who will be otherwise keen to take up the job. According to the same Sichuan report, the PRC bus drivers are offered annual salaries ranging between RMB90,000 and RMB120,000 (approximately $1,562 – $2,082 monthly taking S$1 = RMB4.80) On top of the attractive wages, they are also given free lodging, transport allowances and medical insurance coverage. Not only are they offered attractive terms to work in Singapore, they are also eligible to apply for Singapore PR and eventually citizenship in Singapore which must be the only developed country in the world to give citizenships to bus drivers. With the PAP's mass "integration" exercise underway, Ms Chia should consider herself fortunate that she understands basic Mandarin to communicate with the newcomers.   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

OPINION In the last few years, the Singapore government has increased its investments in the three northeastern provinces of China - Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang with the latest project in the pipeline being a food farm twice the size of Singapore in Jilin. Major cities in the region such as Shenyang and Dalian have received substantial amounts of Singapore investments too including nearby Tianjin where Singapore is currently building an eco-city in. Northeast China is touted as the next frontier in China's economic miracle as it had been neglected largely during its boom years in the 1980s and 1990s which focused on the Special Economic Zone (SEZs) and coastal cities in the Pearl and Whampoa Deltas. On paper, Northeast China is an attractive investment destination due to its relatively low cost of doing business, high educational level of the people and its proximity to South Korea and Japan. Unfortunately, the rise in tensions between the two Koreas present a potential threat to stability in the region which will retard its growth should an armed conflict breaks out. Relationship between North and South Korea has reached a nadir under the South's current President Lee Myung-Bak who has eschewed the "sunshine policy" of his predecessor and adopted a tough stance against the North. The sinking of the South Korean corvette "Cheonan" purportedly by a North Korean torpedo may spark a wider conflagration engulfing the entire region. While the South has shown restrain in its response so far, the North has struck a belligerent note so far, threatening "all-out war" if South Korea were to take any punitive actions against it. In retaliation, South Korea has resumed its psychological warfare against the North and pull out of the joint inter-Korea industrial complex in Kaesong. Though hawish voices within the South Korean government are calling for a putative strike against the North, Seoul's immediate reaction is likely to focus on more economic sanctions which will hardly have any effect on the regime in Pyongyang. North Korea's attack on the South may have stemmed from internal turmoil looming ahead of its expected transfer of power from the ailing Kim Jong-Il to his third son Kim Jong-Un which is not going well as expected. A botched economic reform earlier this year supposedly spear-headed by the younger Kim sparked massive public protests across the country prompting the North's Prime Minister to apologize and the Finance Minister executed by the firing squad. Kim Jong-Il reportedly suffers from end-stage kidney failure and may not have more than three years to live, according to North Korean defectors. A succession plan gone awry in the Stalinist state may trigger a much-feared internal implosion and collapse with refugees spilling across the border into China, thereby destabilizing the entire region. There is a sizeable Korean minority in Jilin province in the cities of Yanji, Ji'an and Tumen which were previously part of the "Gando" region ceded to Japan when Korea was annexed in 1910. An uncontrollable influx of North Korean refugees across the Yalu and Tumen rivers into China's Northeast will radically alter the demographics of its border cities, a situation which Beijing will not want to find itself stuck in. In the worst-case scenario, the North may launch its nuclear warheads on the South, reigniting a second Korean War which will surely end all economic prospects in Northeast China. In the light of fast escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula, it may be prudent for Singapore to review its future investments in the region till the political situation has stabilized. An inter-Korea conflict which will have widespread repercussions in the Asia-Pacific is not that far-fetched judging from the recent turn of events and the impending demise of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.  Read More →