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| Posted: 10 Aug 2013 07:38 AM PDT Republic of Singapore marked its 48th birthday with a grand celebration, with its supreme leader Lee Kuan Yew calling the Malays across the Straits of Johore as orthodox, and that Malaysia will never prosper any further. It drew heavy criticism from Malaysian leaders, both BN and Pakatan Rakyat who perceived Lee's jottings in his latest book One Man's View of the World as belittling and humiliating Malaysia and its people.  "Malaysia was once a relaxed country but now has become much more orthodox under the influence of the Middle Eastern states. They used to serve liqour at dinners and drink with you. When I was there, the Tunku would invite his friends over and drink whisky and brandy with them. Now, they toast each other in syurps." Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when asked to comment on his 'foe's' book, said: "He's 90 years old. We give allowance, allowance like people would give to me also. He is entitled to his opinion where there is free speech, especially in Singapore." Lee's comment that Pakatan Rakyat is an opportunist ad-hoc group drew furious counter-attacks from some PR leaders, including Anwar Ibrahim. "We should not always look at the dichotomy between rights and race, black and white. For example, he (Lee) talks about race-based policies, but there is very little understanding of the discourse in the last decade. "Lee was still trapped in the old mindset when he used to be in the opposition during Malaya before Singapore was established. His thoughts are not so relevant now in the context of the present day. That is what prompted him to make sweeping statements to generalise the situation in Malaysia," Anwar said. In Georgetown, DAP chairman Karpal Singh said Lee Kuan Yew should put his own house in order first, before commenting on others, and that while he (Lee) had the right to give his views, he should also first look at his own party, People's Action Party (PAP). He pointed out that the PAP had lost six seats in the last general election, and also lost in the two recent by-elections. The opposition stalwart gave this advice to Lee, following last week's release of 'One Man's View of the World', in which the latter had commented that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) would not be able to run Malaysia. "His comment that PR will not effectively govern the country, had it been successful in winning over federal power, is without basis. As usual, Lee wants to be the top voice in this part of the world. I think the time has come for him to leave the leaderships for the others and quietly ride into the sunset," Karpal said. Lee's book was released at the height of an uproar in Malaysia over a report by Singapore's The New Paper entitled 'Welcome to Malaysia Where...Death is Cheap and Staying Alive Costly' two weeks ago, which gave the impression that Malaysia is not a safe place to be. This prompted Wisma Putra to send to a note of protest to the republic. Although TNP has regretted it, the editorial team claimed it was not an intention to insult Malaysia and its people. It later on took down the item from its website and Facebook. Personally, I don't think Lee Kuan Yew was rational, and he was not even sincere about Singapore's relationship with Malaysia.. His rantings were merely based on his old political sentiments with Malaysia. Yes, he is 90. Just give him a few more good breaths! lso wrote that Malaysians counting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia concept to usher in a new era of race relations are being unrealistic, while those banking on opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR) were not very much less so. The influential leader noted that the 1Malaysia slogan had failed to gain traction with the Malays. Lee said that it was "impossible" for Najib to win Chinese and Indian support without losing votes from Umno's core supporters - the Malays. He also criticised PR, calling it an "opportunistic ad-hoc group not held together by even vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government". Lee argued that when it comes to the crunch, PR would not be able to do away with Malay supremacy. - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/once-relaxed-malaysians-now-toast-each-other-in-syrups-says-lky#sthash.qGwle4NI.dpuf  |
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