Tuesday October 24, 2006
Lee praises Pak Lah for handling row calmly
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s former premier Lee Kuan Yew says Malaysia has changed for the better under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and believes a recent diplomatic row was just a temporary setback.
In remarks published yesterday, Lee praised Abdullah’s calm handling of a dispute with Singapore over race relations and indirectly contrasted the current Malaysian leader with his fiery predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“I would say that there’s a change for the better,” Lee told the Straits Times, referring to how the Malaysian leadership handled the latest episode in Kuala Lumpur’s often testy ties with Singapore.
“It’s measured, it’s calm and it has an eye to future co-operation, which we welcome.”
Lee downplayed the recent diplomatic row, sparked by his own comments in September that Malaysia marginalised its minority ethnic Chinese population, as just a “little blip on the horizon” for bilateral ties.
Malaysia demanded an apology but Abdullah’s public statements on the matter were measured and he chose to draw a line on the controversy earlier this month after Lee said he was sorry for the impact of his remarks. – AFP
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