Genting Gets the Singapore I.R. - Smart Political Move

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/246100/1/.html

Oh I'm sure Genting got the Sentosa IR on merit, everything in its proposal having been tried, tested and nothing too weird, but the political benefits couldn't have hurt.

All along I'd been saying in face-to-face though not online that Kerzner's "robotic fish" would be too... robotic... heh, and Eighth Wonder's Harry's Island was just too "tacky"; not to mention too kiss-a&*@ - given that Lee Kuan Yew is also known as Harry Lee. Lots of Singaporeans must have winced at the obvious sucker-u**er connotations of the name.

But the clincher - I speculate - and this this is never admitted in the official grounds of decision - is that a failure to award to Genting would have resulted in intense, totally unfriendly and uncertain competition with the region's most established (by far) resorts operator. Genting's operations in Australia (Perth - Burswood), the Phillipines and finally in Malaysia where the casino is a prosperous national landmark in a majority-Muslim country clearly viewable from Kuala Lumpur (more than a hundred kilometres away) - on a good day - gave it a location-specific performance record nobody else could match, least of all the angmolang from Las Vegas.

Giving it to Genting totally killed the idea of a Universal theme park in Southern Johor (in consideration since 1998, when Renong still ran Nusajaya), co-opted Genting into making the resort work together with all its other operations and not in do-or-die competition against them, and was tightly worded enough to minimise any risk that Genting would try a typical Microsoft "buy-it-to-kill-it" strategy. As for political risk vis-a-vis Malaysia (always a difficult relationship where Singapore is concerned), Lim Goh Tong & Co owe nothing to the Malay-dominated government of Malaysia; Malaysia is fortunate to have received what it did (and is, to receive what it still does) by way of tax revenues and other tourism-related benefits from the Genting group and if Goh Tong had to he'd leave Malaysia with his whole family and business in a flash, say, if PAS came to power in the Federal government.

All in, the correct decision to make, which is nothing less than what I would expect of the world's best civil service.

LMT

Non Malays marginalised in Malaysia and Indonesia: why is this news now?

Lee Kuan Yew's comments about Singapore having to adopt (in effect) a "kiasu" stance towards Malaysia and Indonesia because these 2 countries systematically marginalise their Chinese communities have - it seems - caused a real ruckus in Malaysia.

This comes hot on the heels of Badawi's son in law's obviously bigoted, ignorant, racist, politically opportunist and completely non-factual anti-Chinese comments, for which he has not apologised and shown absolutely no intention of apologising.

Malaysia has asked Singapore's high commissioner to offer an explanation for Lee Kuan Yew's comments (reported on Channel News Asia, tonight 28/9/06 at about 9.20pm). Malaysia has further stated that Lee's comments count as interference in Malaysia's affairs and could incite racial trouble. Malaysia's foreign minister has said he wants an apology.

I'm surprised.

Lee Kuan Yew's fight for a Malaysian Malaysia is why (among other things, admittedly) Singapore had to leave the Federation. Lee has for the past more than 4 decades that he has been active in politics strongly opposed the idea of affirmative action for the majority ethnic group in this region. He has never minced his words about Malay rights as the concept is understood in Malaysia. Why is he being called to apologise or explain now?

It is **precisely** because of this - what Lee referred to as systematic marginalisation - that so many of my relatives and secondary school and other childhood friends have declined to join the civil service, or even to stay in Malaysia, and opted instead to live and work overseas, principally in Singapore and Hongkong / China, with Australia and Canada/US/UK coming close behind.

Many English-educated Malaysian Chinese now have PR in Australia, Canada or some other country, as an escape route for in case things get really ugly in Malaysia. Why do our great beloved leaders think they feel so insecure in what is, like it or not, their own country, the land of their birth?

When you have fantastic bigots like Khairy spouting anti-Chinese comments without being properly penalised, what do you expect those who are observing you to think?

Heck, Mahathir has never minced his words about Singapore either, come to think of it. Singapore has never asked Mahathir to apologise for anything he said about, for instance, the Malays' position in Singapore, even when what he said was manifestly inaccurate. Remember Goh Chok Tong's speech in reply to allegations by Mahathir that the Malays had been marginalised in Singapore? Yep, Singapore had fewer Malay doctors and lawyers, Goh said, but on almost every other measure of material and vocational wellbeing the Malays in Singapore were better off than their compatriots in Malaysia. The fact that Malays in Singapore are on average richer than Malays in Malaysia and have full and satisfying careers - after 4 decades of independence - should have given our beloved leaders in the good ol' Malaysian hinterland pause for thought, but hey, these guys are, going by their appearances, not interested in thinking. They're interested in politics, which in Malaysia is of course a whole different thing from actual, rational, thinking (and announcing it).

I say Lee Kuan Yew was right to say what he did, that he should continue saying it, and that Malaysian leaders who demand some sort of apology should be shown their own past record of misdeeds and asked to apologise first. Say sorry for denying hardworking non-Malays their due in Malaysia. Say sorry for dispossessing many of them of a disproportionate share of their wealth, to squander (ie. mis-spend, NOT just spend per se) on the majority ethnic group. Say sorry for the various racist slurs made by top Malay politicians in the ruling coalition over time - starting with the late Dato Harun of Selangor, and ending with the not-so-late Khairy J. Say sorry for mismanagement on a massive scale, measured both temporally as well as materially. Say sorry for everything. Then Lee can offer an apology in return, for telling the truth - it hurts, so I'm sorry, but it's true, and for that there can be no apology.

LMT.