Asia Times: Singapore-Indonesia ties sink to chilly depths



	March 05, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Singapore-Indonesia ties sink to chilly depths
By Mohan Srilal

SINGAPORE - Once-close ties between tiny Singaporeand its huge neighbor Indonesia have plunged to chilly depths,ever since Indonesian President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie deridedthis city state as a mere ''red dot'' on the map last year.

Those remarks, calling Singapore not quite a country on itsown, marked the start of a tense phase between the two countriesthat began soon after Habibie assumed the presidency in May 1998.

The tiff is yet another sign of lingering tensions in South-east Asia that have been revived and exacerbated by recession.

In his latest diatribe, delivered last month to a Taiwanesejournalist, Habibie said Singapore is a racist country thatdiscriminates against its Malay minority, especially in promotionsin the armed forces.

This hit a raw nerve in Singapore, which prides itself onengineering racial harmony between the ethnic Chinese majority,Malays and Indians.

It has historically been sensitive to racial matters, being an ethnic Chinese-majority state surrounded by much morepopulous, mainly Malay nations, Malaysia and Indonesia, whichhave 22 million and 210 million people respectively.

Singapore, with 3.9 million people, separated from Malaysia in1965, due to tensions in areas such as racial policy.

Officials and politicians, media and community leaders herehave been quick to squash allegations of racism, saying Habibiewas making ''ill-informed'' charges.

One Malay community organization went to the extent ofproviding the Indonesian embassy here statistics on senior Malayofficers who have served in the Singapore armed forces since independence.

Many observers say the Indonesian president's dislike for Singapore stems fromcomments made by Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew inFebruary 1998, that financial markets were ''disturbed'' by Habibie'sappointment to the vice presidency by then-president Suharto.

''His attacks on Singapore are being driven by this residualill-feeling. He wants respect from Singapore and Lee Kwan Yew and,in return, he will respect them,'' said Habibie adviser UmarJuoro.

As political temperatures heat up in Jakarta ahead of the Juneelections, and as the recession bites, Habibie and his supporters havemade a number of allegations against Singapore.

In December, Indonesian officials accused Singapore ofharboring ''economic criminals'' while refusing to sign anextradition treaty that would allow Jakarta to bring them tojustice.

Many ethnic Chinese Indonesian businessmen are believed to havemoved their money and families here since the May 1998 riots inIndonesia.

Last month, the Indonesian government threatened to withdrawthe passports of its nationals enlisted in national service in theSingapore army. Under Singapore law, sons of those who have gainedpermanent residency here can be called upon to serve in the armyfor two years.

The present chill reverses almost a quarter century of a veryclose, if not cosy, relationship.

In 1989, the two countries signed an agreement for Singaporeantroops to train in Indonesia.

The next year, they launched the multi-million dollar Batamindustrial development project. In 1994, a tourism cooperation andair services agreement was signed and barely three years ago Suharto and PrimeMinister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore opened the Bintanresort.

Both Batam and Bintan are in Indonesia's Riau island group, lessthan an hour's ferry ride from here.

While economic ties blossomed in the boom years, today Habibieand his allies are calling Singapore a ''fair weather'' friend.

''Singapore knows very well that Indonesia is in dire straitsnow and this is the time we need their help,'' Dewi Fortuna Anwar,a senior adviser to Habibie, told Singapore's 'Strait Times'recently.

''Humanitarian assistance smacks of charity,'' she argued. ''Wewant Singapore to get us investments and help us in external debtfinancing."

''This will earn Singapore Indonesia's goodwill because we knowthey helped us when the chips were down. Who needs fair-weatherfriends who are by our side only when times are good?'' askedDewi.

Analysts here say Dewi's views are reflective of those held bythe inner core of Habibie advisers. Some say the Singaporegovernment's formerly close ties with Suharto's cronies Gen.Murdani, a Catholic, and the Chinese-Indonesian billionaireAnthony Salim may be working against it now.

As the Straits Times's Chua Lee Hoong observed: ''MuslimIndonesians were particularly unhappy, seeing in these a Chinese-Christian nexus that worked to their disadvantage."

Indonesian cooperatives minister Adi Sasono has joined thefray, warning bluntly in an interview with Radio SingaporeInternational that nations that had ''joined in the grand party''of the Suharto era and ''robbed the country's money'' shouldrealize that the times have changed.

Alhough he refused to name Singapore in the interview, it isassumed here that his comments were directed at the city state.

Sasono was very critical of Singapore for not coming forward toassist his ''people's economy'' development plan, which envisagessetting up 38 million cooperatives nationwide to helpredistribute wealth. ''I have not seen Singapore's interest inhelping the people's economy,'' he said in that interview.

Following Habibie's latest outburst and Sasono's comments,Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned Singaporeans that theircountry is in the middle of a big storm brewing in the region, andthat people need to remain united.

''If you follow what's going on around us, you will understandwhy we have to be united,'' he said.

The media here are full of daily stories of riots, factionalreligious killings and socio-political conflict in Indonesia.

Last week, Indonesian sociologist Ariel Heryanto argued thatpolitical cultures in the two countries are so different it iseasy to misunderstand each other.

''Race is understood differently in contemporary Indonesia andSingapore. And so [are] the notion and practice of racialdiscrimination or ethnic harmony,'' she said in a publishedarticle. ''Racial issues are generally more serious in Singaporeand Malaysia than in Indonesia."

Heryanto argues that Malaysia and Singapore have encouraged themajor ethnic groups - Chinese, Malays and Indians - to beconscious of their ethnicity, while in Indonesia ethnicauthenticity exists mainly ''in the theme park Taman MiniIndonesia Indah and official speeches."

Analysts warn that,whoever may win the presidential poll this year in Indonesia,bilateral ties are headed for more turbulence.

Said Hoong: ''The most realistic prognosis is that anyIndonesian leader who emerges after the elections will besubjected to populist pressures, some of which may have a negativeimpact on Singapore."

(Inter Press Service)

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©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.

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