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| Posted: 29 Nov 2013 10:50 AM PST In my November 19, 2012 posting about Singapore and Israel, I wrote that 'the similarities of these two little engines that could (and did) become models of state capitalism with high per capita incomes and growth rates haven't often been noted'. "Both have been governed and stamped by the British. Both have populations of 5 or 6 million, including 2 or 3 million second-class citizens and non-citizens, some of them migrants, some of them openly despised." However, the most interesting part reads: "The Israelis militarised Singaporean society, even with Israeli military songs, to which Lee's soldiers marched in one of Singapore's first real Independence Day parades. Less symbolically, they showed Singapore how to establish military conscription in a hitherto un-militaristic populace that, according to at least one survey, ranked the profession of soldier far below that of thief, while placing artists, teachers and merchants on top.Similarly, in the wake of Singapore-Australia-US espionage on Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia, I guess nobody could deny that Singapore's 'intimate' relation with Israel has turned it into 'an enemy within'.  Just like Israel, Singapore allocates big budget for its defense, something that open up questions like 'who are Singapore's enemy', 'why must such a small state needs a big security forces' or 'is Singapore afraid of its neighbors?' After some readings, I found out that Singapore was never worried about the possibility of coming under attacks by its neighbor, especially Malaysia. It is no secret that there is much resentment between the two nations who share the same history, Singapore and Malaysia. The former is dominated by Chinese while the other, by Malays. Though both nations were, at one time, a single country, racial tensions and riots had divided the entity into two countries. Singapore with its 1.8 million population was expelled from Malaysia (then about 6 million in population) on August 15 , 1965. Both countries had gone their own separate ways since but simmering tension and hate by Singapore continued to grow with the passing of time. Singapore is the only country in South East Asia where its indigenous inhabitants, the Malays, had lost their political power and are dominated by immigrant Chinese population, mostly hailing from the southern provinces of China, and only came to Singapore in masses in the late 1800s with the encouragement of the British. In the annals of the Malay Archipelago, Temasik's history with the Malays is undeniable. So where do we begin tracing Temasik's history and its connection with the Malays? Do we start tracing it from the time when the Malay Funan and the Malay Champa Kingdoms arose in the first and second century C.E. respectively, or from the time period when control over Pulau Hujung (the old name for Temasik) was fought by the Siamese dynasties of Sukhotai and Ayudhya - who were at the time occupying the eastern and northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia (also known as Hujung Tanah) - with the Srivijaya kingdom in 7th century C.E.? Or maybe we should looking into the time when Parameswara, a prince of Srivijaya (the founder of the Malacca Sultanate) took refuge in Temasik for several years after his kingdom was attacked by the Majapahit empire in 1391 C.E. Until 1824, when Sultan Hussein Shah handed Singapore on a silver platter to Sir Stamford Raffles, there can be no doubt that Singapore's history with Malaysia has been inseperatable, both are connected historically and culturally though they are separated politically and culturally. Having seen the above facts on the history of Singapore with the Malays (whom the Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew once termed as 'lanun' or a race of pirates) and Malaysia in general, why do we see the Sino-dominated government of Temasik trying to antagonise Malaysia so many times? From incidents such as the Istana Kampung Gelam issue and invasion of Malaysian waters and airspace by Singapore's military, to bilateral issues such as water supply, the Tanjung Pagar checkpoint, the CLOB affair, and a hostile anti-Malaysian media, Singapore has been acting in childish rhetoric since its expulsion in 1965. Once is okay, twice is tolerable, but three or four times? This we can see when, without even considering the sensitivities of their Muslim-Malay community, the Muslims of Malaysia and Muslim countries in general, they invited the Israeli President Chaim Herzog to Singapore in November 1986. And when Singapore announced in August 1989 their willingness to accommodate an American military base, we are left wondering - what country or countries has Singapore actually perceived as her 'enemy', that had 'forced' Singapore to spend much of her resources on upgrading her military? When one talks of Israeli connections in Singapore, the first thing that likely comes to mind is arms agreements. Even before entering into diplomatic relations with Israel in May 1969, Singapore made extensive purchases of military equipment from the Jewish state, and continues to do so, along with cooperating on security matters. But Israel is also indirectly involved in Singapore's tourism and hospitality business. Among the relatively recent tourist developments that have favorably impacted the tiny southeast Asian country's economy is the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort complex, which opened in April 2010. The resort combines three 55-story hotel towers containing 2,561 luxury rooms and suites, a skypark with 360- degree views of Singapore's skyline, a massive convention and trade show center, a museum, two theaters, 60- plus dining destinations, a casino, the highest 'infinity-edge' rooftop swimming pool in the world, a spacious observation deck, a spa, a limousine service, metro train terminus and more. The ballroom in the flexible convention center can accommodate 6,600 people for a banquet and 11,000 for an auditorium-style lecture or presentation. And there's a fourth tower on the drawing board. Including the cost of the land, which was completely under water and reclaimed, the project – a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corporation – was developed at an investment of $5.7 billion. The bid was won in 2006, and construction commenced in early 2007. Amazingly it took only three years to complete. The architect of this remarkable integrated facility is the internationally renowned, Haifa-born Moshe Safdie, whose family moved to Canada when he was 15 but who is identified as an Israeli-Canadian. Safdie has a branch office in Jerusalem, where his landmark designs include Hebrew Union College, the David Citadel Hotel, the Mamilla Mall, and the Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem. Other projects in Israel that bear his imprint include Ben-Gurion Airport and the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. When the Singapore government published the Marina Bay tender, it was looking for a design concept that would become as synonymous with Singapore as the Sydney Opera House is with Australia. Amazing, right? Singapore had in fact been increasing her military equipment during the economic downturn, a very sharp contrast to other Asean countries which had actually been cutting down on their military expenditure. In March 1999 the Singaporean Parliament was informed that the government had allocated 25 per cent or S$7.27 billion (RM16.72 billion) from the whole budget for defense. And according to Asian Defence Journal (ADJ) January and February 2000, Singapore is reported to own three F-16A fighters, four F-16B fighters, 10 F-16D fighters, 36 F-5C fighters and eight F-5T fighters. The question here is: Why? All these issues only strengthen the opinion of those across the Causeway and across the Malacca Straits that this is probably due to the inferiority complex of the Sino-dominated government, who see themselves as being under a 'siege' by hostile neighbors - economically and politically. Like Israel, Singapore wants to deny the historical connection she has with her neighboring countries, hence the endeavor to be cut off historically and culturally from the rest. And like Israel too, Singapore have been arming herself with billons of Singapore dollars' worth of military equipment, courtesy of the US, in the ad nauseam excuse that it is for their 'defense' from external enemies, imagined or otherwise. At the same time they spend their cash on their military, Singapore also indulges in a 'cultural genocide' of their indigenous population, the Malays, by isolating them economically, politically and socially. It is no wonder that Singapore is very friendly towards Israel, as both share the same mentality and both are the friend of the US. Now let us make a brief comparison of Singapore and Israel, based on the historical evidences: The immigrant Zionist Jews from Europe, at the encouragement of the British, came to Palestine in droves in the 1900s at the expense of the indigenous people. The immigrant Chinese from China's southern provinces, at the encouragement of the British, came to Temasik in droves in the 1800s at the expense of the indigenous people. After the formation of Israel in 1948, the Zionists began to displace their indigenous Arab population historically, socially and culturally. After the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, the Sino-dominated government began to displace their indigenous Malay population historically, socially and culturally. Israel, with the backing of the US, spend its money more on its military than anything else. Singapore, with the backing of the US, spend its money more on its military than anything else. Israel sees its (majority) Muslim-Arab neighbors as 'hostile'. So does Singapore, which sees its (majority) Muslim-Malay neighbors as 'hostile'. With the above indisputable outline, how can we not conclude that Singapore is indeed 'the Israel of South East Asia'?  |
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