the love hate relationship of Malaysia - Singapore

firstly, to clarify, i'm malaysian... however, i am ever thankful for singapore and the government for providing me with their quality education ever since A-levels. the quality of this education, it is safe to say, far surpasses what i may hope to receive if i was still in malaysia.

these 2 countries are like siblings. this cannot be doubted, as singapore is born out of the former malaya. if we look at history, the indigenous people in this part of the world are the malays and the orang asli. chinese and indian migrants form the largest part of the current minority in malaysia, whereas through a shift in geo-political and social policies, many chinese moved to singapore, and now form the largest majority in singapore.

relative to other nations with long history dating back to the pre-1800's, malaysia and singapore can be considered young nations. malaysia achieved independence in 1957 while singapore is declared an independent nation in 1963. however, one might think, why these countries, which share such intimate past and consist of basically the people of same races, are not the best of friends?

perhaps due to the spirit of competition some might say? the competitiveness or as they say, the kiasu spirit might have led to this. leaders of both nation simply do not want to feel like they are lesser compared to their counterparts. this might have a hint of truth as we are humans after all. one of the (bad) qualities of human beings is their greediness, to want to be the best, to want others to think of them as the best, and not to be considered sub-standard.

however, in my opinion, this is more due to history than to anything else. if we look at anywhere else in the world, there are many such examples. north and south korea are neighbours, they both consists of koreans, and yet they are a polar apart in terms of relations. what would change this? i think if one day, the dear leader in north korea awakens and want to consider treating their brothers in the south better, both nations can really be best of friends. just like in malaysia and singapore.

people in both countries generally do not hate one another. many singaporeans have roots in malaysia, relatives living in malaysia. and vice versa. history created a baggage for malaysian and singaporean leaders to resume an ultra-friendly relationship. part of it may also be due to the separation of both countries from the former Malaya.

"breaking up is hard to do" as the song goes... and so i believe that the separation of the past has left both sides with a feeling of contempt for the other. however as i mentioned earlier, this is history, and while history forms a part of our identities, it should never dictate our lives for the present and future. it can form part of the consideration for our decisions, but never dictate.

therefore it is heartwarming to see the recent issue of a statement made by the great leader of singapore, MM Lee handled with such acuteness and sensitivity by PM Abdullah of malaysia. as MM Lee himself pointed out, after PM Abdullah assumes leadership, both governments have strived to achieve a friendlier relationship, albeit a professional one. It takes a supreme leader with foresight to not take this issue and spin it out of hand to gain political mileage. PM abdullah has done this, and MM Lee similarly reciprocated by apologizing for his statement, though his statement was taken out of context in the first place. It is true that his statement made people displeased. i was displeased myself. chinese in malaysia are made to follow some rules, law and act that may not be common in other democratic countries. however, i believe that the rule is not oppressive, and in fact, the chinese in malaysia have learn to adopt and live with this policy for the better of the nation. in every country, rule of the law is derived based on its own unique history and culture. this quota system is merely an example of one such policy.

it's great to see the matter now resolved. the way both leaders handled the issue is heartwarming, and visionary. with strong relationships amidst fierce competition between the 2 countries, both economies can only prosper.

who knows, we may just be able to leave the hate out of the love hate relationship. as arsene wenger mentioned recently, competitive nature means that we do not have time to be bothered by the past. we only think of the current and future.