1. Ancient China considered itself the centre of the world and called itself the Middle Kingdom. And well it should. It was far more advanced in every way than Europe of the Dark Ages. Maybe China is thinking of making a comeback.
2. But we already have a new Middle Kingdom now. During Lee Kuan Yew’s triumphant visit to Malaysia he made it known to the Malaysian supplicants that Singapore regards the lands within 6000 miles radius of Singapore as its hinterland. This includes Beijing and Tokyo and of course Malaysia.
3. Of course this self-deluding perception places Singapore at the centre of a vast region. It is therefore the latter day Middle Kingdom. The rest are peripheral and are there to serve the interest of this somewhat tiny Middle Kingdom.
4. Kuan Yew also explained that the fear Singapore Chinese would control Iskandar whatever is not justified. Malays can also work there. It is good to know that Malays can also work in their own country. I wonder as what? Maybe someone should make a study of the Malays of Singapore just to know what it is like to be a Malay minority in their own country.
5. As for the 3 sen per 1000 gallons of raw water supplied to Singapore Lee says it was absurd for the former Prime Minister of hinterland Malaysia to ask to increase it to RM8 per 1000 gallons. I don’t know where he got this. Some Malaysian officers did suggest this figure but we were ready to bargain and maybe settle for RM3. And why not? Johore sells raw water to Melaka for 30 sen, 1000% higher than to Singapore. And Melaka is, I believe, a part of Malaysia! Some Malaysians may see the irony of this.
6. The great 5th Prime Minister has decided that since the people of Johore did not want to sell sand to Singapore, Malaysia would not build any bridge, straight or crooked, or negotiate and settle the other issues like the Central Provident Fund, the Railway land. Maybe the 5th Prime Minister thinks he is punishing Singapore. Actually he is giving Singapore what its wants including the 3 sen per 1000 gallons water until 2061. Think of how many grains of nasi lemak we can buy with 3 sen in 2061. Imagine what 1000 gallons will earn for Singapore at that time. Can’t think of a more astute PM for Malaysia.
7. All those who met the great man from the little country were lectured on how Malaysia should be run. We should not have anymore problems now. We have been told the direction to take. MCA must help UMNO to win because Singapore does not want an Islamic Party like PAS to win. We must ensure this. Sorry PAS. Working with the DAP, the offspring of PAP has not endeared you to Mr Lee.
8. I have a lot more to say about this little Emperor but I will reserve it for later.
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com
Dear People,
I have always felt that its not worth investing in Malaysia – because our every effort, offer etc is viewed under the microscope of race and religion. Forget the Iskandar Development Region. The Malays in Malaysia do NOT want our presence. It is better to invest in Indonesia or Thailand etc.
Mahathir talks about the Singaporean Chinese dominating Malaysia. Dangerous words coming from a former PM of Malaysia for 22 years.
No point doing business in Malaysia if we are NOT welcome.
Best Regards
Dr Syed Alwi
Poor Dr M,
Sounds like a bad case of envy attack. Must feel quite shit that Msian politicians, opposition and government, give LKY more deference than him. He should have taken a leaf out of LKY’s book and stayed on as MM.
The 2 old man will never see eye to eye, luckily one of them has lost his power and less influence over decision or else the grass will suffer when the 2 big elephants fight.
Poltical entertainment ….*clap clap*… I like!
There is a wiseman in Malaysia.
So how come, DR M if S’pore is pretenious Msia PM came to ask S’pore to invest in Iskandar and build bridge?
Why not ask the ARabs?
We got the $$$$. So ranting doesn’t help.
MacArthur, the deposed general in the Korean War said bitterly at West Point that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”
Nowadays, it looks like old politicians not only never die, they also never seem to fade away either.
A dictator in the Philippines was once asked where he would like to be buried when he passed on and his unwavering answer was “In Mt Calvary, just outside Jerusalem, of course.”
Then they asked “Is it because you are a man of faith?”
The dictator thundered “No! It is because 2000 years ago, a dignitary died there and he rose again from the dead three days later! “
IDR must succeed, in my wishlist.
I have no job (for too long ) and no money to get PR overseas.
IDR is my only hope to get outta ……..
IDR is my last hope for retirement, in my view.
Malaysia Boleh!!! Malaysia MUST Boleh!!! I BEG YOU!!!!
Majulah IDR!!!
I luv IDR!!!!! Make it a success!!!!!! PLEEEEEEESE!
hmmm.. if Sgp thinks its the Middle Kingdom, then our neighbors up north including d ‘aristocratic’ mahathir n his ilk think Singapura is still part of the Johor Sultanate. Blame it on whichever silly sultan who ‘sold’ Singapura to the East India Company in 1819. Sgp has every right to negotiate on equal terms with M’sia, but some m’sian politicians cannot stomach the fact that Sgp does not treat them with deferential ‘neighbourliness’. No matter what we do, we are considered ‘kurang ajar’. That’s the price for being economically more successful than the ‘parent’s’ who threw the kid out of the house long ago yet still expecting the kid to support it …
Dr Mahatir and LKY do look both enemies to me. Understand both country history and their history, and you will know wthe answer.
Mahatir: The prime minister who is behind Malaysia modernisation success and lead the authoritarian government
LKY: Our prime minister who is behind Singapore modernisation success and lead the authoritarian government.
i liked the following phase
” Think of how many grains of nasi lemak we can buy with 3 sen in 2061″
That was funny.
well we are talking about 2 autocratic rulers here, LKY and mahartir. They ran their countries erm…….relatively well(?) and they were great in securing their supreme control of the state during their time which tells u the difference now: Mahartir is much weaker politically than our god-emperor LKY and i tink he will forever be jealous at the success how LKY controls his puppets ministers and him failing in the 1st few months since he stepped down and swearing cursing his luck when abdullah went against his plans which HE CHOSE personally.
I think our MM should mind our own business of going up to the north to let people take bad of us. I think we have better things to settle here than to worry others’ people matters. MM please don’t create more problems for your next generation ldrs and us. Enough is Enough. Use your energy to help S’pore overcome this crises or if not just rest home and enjoy your golden years.
Wow – this old man really hates Singapore. Still haven’t forgotten or forgiven the taxi driver who dropped him at the servant’s quarters instead of the front door of his girl friend’s house when he was studying at the University of Malaya in Singapore many moons ago.
“So how come, DR M if S’pore is pretenious Msia PM came to ask S’pore to invest in Iskandar and build bridge?
Why not ask the ARabs?”
Because there is no commerical interest for Arabs. If they build a bridge, only both countries enjoy the benefit, so how does that benefit the Arabs ? Do you think the Arabs can put ERPeep, Peep, Peep for these bridges ? Do you think the Arabs so stupid to invest in these properties whereby they will be boot off once the bridge and Iskandar are up. There is no such thing as third party control when it come to strategic and political assets.
As usual, Dr M is suffering from a serious case of selective amnesia. On that 3 sens thingy, here’s the whole truth according to one AC who posted it at Malaysia Today:
Why did Mahathir agree to 3 sens per 1000 gallon during his time? A few pointers lifted from an earlier posting in my blog:
1) The construction of the reservoirs, dams and pipe works to bring the water to Johor and to Singapore, as well as it’s upgrading and maintenance is all paid by Singapore – over the years it came up to a cost of more than S$1 Billion.
2) Back then, for every 1000 gallons of water:
- Singapore pays 3 sen for the raw water from Malaysia
- Singapore pays RM2.40 to treat this water
- Malaysia pays 50 sen to buy this treated water from Singapore
- Malaysia sells this treated water at RM3.95 to Johor residents
Johor made a profit of RM128,000 every day by selling treated water bought at a much lower price from Singapore. That’s a tidy net profit as the cost of construction is fully paid by Singapore (refer pt 1).
3) The two Water Agreements allowed for a price review after 25 years, that is in 1986 and 1987 respectively. But Malaysia did not ask for a review at that time. It was a calculated decision by Malaysia not to review. Johor State Assembly Speaker Zainalabidin Mohd Zain made this clear : “There was no point in doing so because Johor was dependent on Singapore for its treated water supply, and Singapore would have also increased its price of treated water sold to Johor.” So, Malaysia did not ask for a price review then because it have benefited Malaysia more for the status quo to continue (refer point 2).
4) Despite Malaysia choosing not to review the prices during the periods where they could under the treaty (refer pt 3), Singapore is still open to a price review – if only the Malaysia government under Mahathir could make up his mind on the right price – Mahathir first agreed to the price of 45 sen for current water supply and 60 sen for future water supply in Sep 01. But in Mar 02, he increased their asking price to 60 sen for water sold from 2002 to 2006, and RM 3 for water sold from 2007 to 2011. Yet later, he increased the demand to RM6.25 for water from 2002. It can be quite hard to play football if the goal posts keep moving.
5) In Dec 98, Malaysia under Mahathir decided the drop the price reviews approach as a singular negotiation (refer pt 4), and requested to resolve all the outstanding bilateral issues as a package. Singapore agreed. Then the Malaysian government unilaterally called off the package approach.
So all this ‘package approach’ linking sand, air space etc to water price reviews originated from Mahathir – not Singapore. Thus, both Malaysians and Singaporeans have the dear Tun to thank for the ‘creative’ approach of bundling multiple issues together.
” taxi driver who dropped him at the servant’s quarters ”
I thought that taxi driver is already gracious by not dropping M in cemetery instead.
If I have to choose between the lesser devil of M & L, I rather choose L because at least L stand for Lan-lan but M stand for Mud-di. Lan-lan that billions are lost but Mud-di if me Chinese get ignored by M corrupted government.
i dunno why he has so much hatred towards singapore. if not for singapore, he might be a cik guru as he will not be a doctor! yet, he comes to singapore to meet his “friends”.
i feel sorry for the old man mahathir! he made a mis-step by giving up his powers so now people can ignore him if they want to. sad for him that najib who he thot was his protege has also ignored him, else i am sure that lky would not be allowed to visit malaysia. he was living very much under the shadow of lky that i guess it must have irked him n his EGO! i remembered that when he became pm, he did what lky did in s’pore by consolidating power in the executive and deprive all other arms of government like the judiciary, legislative and the sultans. the only thing he could make singapore follow was to move the time zone by half an hour. all other things he did was to follow singapore’s example. he even had an equivalent cpib BUT of course we know how effective it was when the man supervising it is himself ……………..
@ 15)T
//Malaysia sells this treated water at RM3.95 to Johor residents //
Do you or anyone know what Singapore sells 1000 gallons of treated water to Singapore residents, after it buys at 3 sen per 1000 gallons as raw water and treats it? That should be an interesting fact to know.
At least one old man still supports his country and his men….
The other old man is selling his country away…..
Only time will tell…..who is going to get it right…..
Till then lets all pay more for water….
What has Mahathir done for his country and people after he has retired?
Answer: He was source of destructive forces that partly weaken UMNO and damage Malaysia’s reputation. Now Najib is having a good chance to do something good. And Mahathir is still trying to destroy it especially the Iskander Project and relationships with his neighbour.
Fortunately during LKY’s visit he was treated with respect by the current leadership and they are sincere in trying to forward. This augurs well for Najib’s government.
@ 15) T
//Back then, for every 1000 gallons of water: Singapore pays 3 sen for the raw water from Malaysia – Singapore pays RM2.40 to treat this water- Malaysia pays 50 sen to buy this treated water from Singapore- Malaysia sells this treated water at RM3.95 to Johor residents //
Does anyone know how much Singapore charges for 1000 gallons of treated water to Singapore residents? That should be interesting to know.
Does anyone know how much Singapore charges for 1000 gallons of treated water to Singapore residents?
Can LKY sue Mathatir for calling him little Emperor.
Saw the awesome Apache attack helicopters preparing for the NDP at the East Coast Park yesterday. It dawns on me as to why ‘The Great Tun’ is all talk only and the water remains flowing at 3 sen.
Touch our water and you will see what the Apache’s, F16′s, Leopard tanks and divisions of pissed-off, pot-bellied reservists (disrupted from their money-making) can do.
Dr. M has nothing good to say about Spore and our political leaders, especially MM Lee. He always seems to have an axe to grind with us. When he was PM of Msia the relationship was so bad that he even have thoughts of invading Spore. Fortunately for us, we have a very strong, capable armed forces and most important of all a very determined and united people to prevent him from doing the unthinkable.
The famous ‘Singapore Bashing’ was started by him and he has not stop doing it even after his retirement as PM. Every now and then, he will start to throw a..’dart..at Spore, our politicl system and our political leaders to set the ball rolling. And their news media will follow up with the basing relentlessly.
As long as Dr M continues doing this, relationship can never improve and I don’t see any reason why Spore investors should invest in a country where you are not welcome at all.
M is senile, we shouldnt throw away another land opportunity & doom our bright future over his worthless words or the fact that msia malays are jealous of chinese
No need to give Mahathir publicity on this blog. The spent windbag will fade away to be sure. He tried to help Najib in the Perak’s election— -full of sound and fury and in the end nothing. He is complaining now that his little brother is giving up on him – so are most of his previous followers.
Mahathir is NOT a Malay. M&M are both at logger heads. I wonder when they will shake hands . M and Soros already reconciled and now like brudders
Two former prime minster are hypocrites, we cant do anything. You all think we can trust our own MM which have the largest influence in the PAP? Its the same with Dr M, he have the largest political influence in BN. Btw LKY visit has been criticise by mainstream media and malaysian, i think there is a report on today straits times.
Mahathir is not Malay but he is definitely partly Malay.
Just like how LKY is not pure Chinese either.
Anyway Mahathir is a problem too, but at least he didn’t detain his political opponents and his country’s activists for decades, or use the courts to bankrupt them to oblivion like LKY did.
does middle kingdom mean Emperial China as in ‘Zhong Guo’ where ‘Zhong’ = Middle and ‘Guo’ means Kingdom?
Isit I stupid or what…
but sand is one of the most abundant substance in the world. Just go Sahara desert can dig up endless supply. So, why must fight with our neighbours for it? Last time it’s Indonesia, now it’s Malaysia.
“Can LKY sue Mathatir for calling him little Emperor.”
Sure. Why can’t he ? But if both court are kangaroo, the side that win is where the court hearing happen. Naturally either side want to the sue in respective country since sure win.
Lan-lan: You call me emperor I sue you.
Mudi: Okay, sue la. Come to Malaysia and sue la.
Lan-lan: Why must be Malaysia court ? Singapore court is the most respected and objective in the world. Sue in Singapore.
Mudi: Haha, you mean Malaysia court cannot be trusted ? I sue you if you imply that. Come la, sue me in Malaysia.
Lan-lan: No, sue you in Singapore.
Now do you get the point of why it is pointles to sue when both want to fight it in their own country to ensure 100% victory ?
what is the track record of law suits when done overseas vs when done locally?
think about it.
If Dr Mahathir ever gets sued for using the words ‘little emperor’ on Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Then hundreds of Sg Netizens would have gone bankrupt or jailed for far worse name-callings.
Many Singaporeans are swearing, cursing and vulgarizing the Local Leaders all the time. Maybe they(Leaders) earn all the disrespects.
Libel is a possible charge on M but I doubt L will do it because it seems too trivial to me. It is on a blog and it is more of a personal ranting…..
Let us not not get distracted by Mahathir’s comments…
What’s important for us is to be critically aware of situations and condition in Singapore. Where we should be active in civic engagement and our role as a citizen to be critical of the government policies and bureaucrats.
Our neighbour up north has one M that is a stumbling block to progress whilst we have our double M who is no better.
It is both country’s misfortune to be stucked with 2 oldfarts, way past their sell by date and way ovedue for burial.
It is the animosity between the 2 oldfarts that is the stumbling block to better ties.
As of now, I am convinced our relationship with them are superficial.
The relationship will not get better, not when our oldfart is pulling the strings and holding the hands of our incumbent PM. The only way forward is our incumbent PM leading the way personally to foster ties with his counterpart up north.
Frankly the 2 oldfarts, Mahathir and LKY are not men of wisdom nor men with vision.
ps: A wise father will ensure his children do not inherit his enemies.
To A Tan #6
Because we have the $ and are Stupid with our “investments”. I guess we dont need more elaborations do we?
if MM had asked him whether he has eaten already or not, i am sure, his mouth will be sweeter.
what we should ask ourselves is what should be done to make the next generation of both countries better off, and not hold to deadlocks from the previous generation.
I always find it strange that Dr. Mahathir could be a statesman for so long. He is too petty to be one.
I recall reading about him, years ago confessing to having ill-feelings towards Singapore because of an incident in the past. He was being mistaken to be a servant by the relations of his Chinese friend when he visited him. But this incident happened so long ago and Singapore has changed. Apparently, Dr. Mahatir has not.
Dr Mahathir talks as if he is the champion of the Malay cause in Singapore. Fortunately, many Malays in Singapore do not think so. Dr. Syed Alwi, begged to differ from him. As a minority group, I am sure the Malays suffered from discrimination from time to time. But this is expected in countries with majority racial groups and minority racial groups. Even the Chinese in the United States suffered some sort of subtle discrimination. But discrimination is not institutionalized and the general social more here is that racism is wrong.
I hope that Dr Mahathir will not let his prejudices get the better of him.
Mahathir is like a spoilt child, if he doesn’t gets what he wants he throws tantrums. Of course in Malaysia where his average IQ is way above the national average, he can pull off easily. Blow hot blow cold, he makes good stories for the media.
He like CSJ knows that to entangle with LKY is to get free publicity.
The water issue, he never bothered to get it solved at all but instead compound the problem by giving half truths.
Managing a country is not about ego trips. You are dealing with the lives of people. They want food, security, progress and happiness. Election does not ensure it but elected committed people do.
Singapore’s success is indeed an indictment to his incompetency. The way he went for Abdullah is the lowest point that he can go. Abdullah cancelled the crooked bridge. What made him so mad is that his cronies had invested in the land around the bridge.
He is no fool, but he should not think others are fools.
that’s the reason why we shouldn’t have political king presiding over people.
@ Thinktok,
” Of course his average IQ is way above the national average”
Don’t you think you are rather condescending with this statement ?
Are you implying the Malaysians are not so bright ? Did you get this silly idea from your political masters or reading too much crap in the MSM ?
Are you so cocksure Mahathir and CSJ entangled with LKY for publicity ?
Why don’t you include JBJ, Francis Seow, Tang LH, etc , all of them have entangled with LKY in the past ? Our politicians have lost their shirts and pants and you think it is for publicity ?
However I agree with you Mahathir is no fool, and he should not think others are fools.
But unfortunately we also have LKY who thinks all S’poreans are fools.
Are you able to figure this out ?
self serving leaders
i agree with your comments. thinktok seems to believe that our northern neighbours, especially those of darker colour, have lower iq than us. this is flawed and dangerous thinking! mahathir can put our younger so-called politicians in his pocket and run rings around them!
i would be more aware of potentially opportunistic self serving leaders who are eager to fill the void once the former power centers are gone.
just because we may like to see the current 1 gone, the new 1 may be worse than the previous. beware of false prophets, especially those who seem too good to be true. probe a little further, will reveal they are not who they claim to be…
45) Only a bigger fool like you will think that LKY think all S’poreans are fools. I think LKY is a gentleman and he use his intellect to help Singapore and any country that values his wisdom. You are ungrateful and possess a closed mind.