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AT HOME AND ABROAD

In Reshaping Their Relations, New Delhi and Dhaka Can Learn Much from South East Asia

S. M. Ali
/N vw q/ hl« little qu«-d rmudij l^r Kuan Yew of Singapore once said. 'your closest neighbour la not necessarily yow best friend'
This obseruatlon by the former Prime Minister of the rUy republic now a powerful se nior minister of the gooerrinwnt. utas undoubt edly In relation to rhe Island s Iwo populous mighty neighbours. Malaysia and Indonesia With both Malay dominated Muslim mq/ortty court Iries, the predominantly Chinese Singapore has had uneasy, somewhat tense relationship until the mid sixties This is now only a part of his tory of the region
Looking back, analysts say that lee's remark, quoted above, was anything but a grim warning It was only meant to put the reality of Singapore s position — geographic, political and economic — tn the proper perspective
lie sides, as one expert in the University of Singapore once put to this writer. 'If Lee said that your closest neighbour may not be your best friend. he did not say that it cannot be your good friend '
In fact, this Is precisely what has happened tn the relationship between Singapore and its partners in the Association of South East Aslan Nations lASEAN). especially between the city republic and two of its immediate neighbours They have been tn good relations, perhaps in excellent relations, since August. 1965 when Singapore emerged as an independent repubtk after two year long membership in the Federation of Malaysia as a component state
Since then, over the past 27 years, the three neighbours — Singapore. Malaysia and Indonesia — have reshaped their relations bilateral and multilateraL on a firm, businesslike and prag matte basis There have been issues and prob lems in their relations, such as the supply of water from Malaysia to Singapore, the entry of 11 legal Indonesian workers into Malaysia and smuggling between the city republic and the outlying Indonesian Islands Hut none has been allowed to get out of hand
Now that, with the state visit paid to India by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zla. Dhaka and New Delhi have set the stage for a new begin ntng In their ties, one wonders (J there Is much we can learn from I hr- way the three Southeast Asian countries have handled tf^ir relationships at different levels
My answer is in the affirmative Without tak Iny the Singapore Malaysia Indonesia relationship as a model as such, our two governments here can draw several lessons from the ASEAN region
True, our scenarios are different, based on separate unique historical processes. Here, one cannot also ignore the fact that pragmatic Chinese and mild mannered Malays find it eas let to work towards a mutually beneficial relationship than the volatile almost aggressive, people of South Asia
Itils is where the role of leadership, usfh the polkies it lays down together with the working style for the administration, has a decishe place. If this was not so. ail three countries would hat* been al loggerheads on many Issues perhaps wilh ethruc conflicts causing haiuc in Malaysia and Stnqaprre
It is a question of approach consciously de. veloped by leaders of rhe three countries and then handed down to the respective clvft service This Is what iqe rail the pdiikal will that provides the guidance to the bureaucracy not the other way around
One essential ingredient In tlw -ipproar h Iles tn the ability of [mlltlral leaders to tackle 'some difficulties' a phrase commonly used In Kuala luimpur and Singapore, at an early stage, before they dsrvelnp Into a problem or a crisis Instewl of turning them into public issues The approach may also be based on personal dialogue between senior ministers of the government* concerned, perhaps during a golf match followed by a quiet lunch. This Is not an Imaginary situation This is precisely what happened tn the late sixties when the two deputy prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia. Cloh Kenq Swee and the late Mohammad Ismail, got together for golf at Jahore and sorted out a couple of their bilateral problems It is said, they reached an Impasse on one which was later resolved by their prime ministers, again at the golf course.
The approach works well for three inter-re-luted reasons First, politicians avoid using an Is sue that may affect bilateral relations with a neighbour for domestic political gain. Secondly. in recognition of the sensitive nature of relation ship existing among the three countries, some kind of national consensus exists in all three are frequent exchanges of visit* among ministers of the three countries, some private ones, which enable their governments to maintain their dia logue. away from media exposure and bureau
cratlc interferences
This writer, then working tn Singapore gained an insight kilo the system tn 197) I was then on a visit to Kuala Lumpur on an assign ment when we heard what seemed lire an un expected announcement about the spill of the Malaysian Singapore Airlines IMSAI info two separate services For five years, since the city republic had left Malaysia. MSA had remained a Joint venture
Asked by my Singapore paper to file a report tn a matter of hours. I went to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry for a brteftnq which was readly arranged
During the briefing, the officer explained the situation and all the reasons for the split In a calm dispassionate manner, giving the back ground and financial implicatkms from the two perspectives. Malaysia's and that of Singapore He did not predict a disaster for tlw Singapore Airline* which was determined to enter the highly competitive field of International air travel I still remember his concluding remark 'Instead of one good airline, you wil hate two '
The respect for sensUMtie* of neighbour*, especially on external Issues, often emerges as an Important factor when one of ti^m is dealing with a third country This explain* why Singapore took a long time m establishing full diplomatic Ues wtth China, making U known to all concerned that It would make the move only after Indonesia which had been extremely criti cal of He^tng on tdedogkal grounds had set up U* mission in the Chbseee a^itaL As a predomt nantly Chinese stale Singapore did not want to be misunderstood by Jakarta by Jumping thr^
When I brought this up. with an official of the Chinese Foreign Minister during one of my last visits to Bering I was laid, quite correctly This is the ASEAN way of doing things, which is absolutely correct '
Unfortunately. this is not the way tn South Asia. Governments tn SAARC countries would seldom go beyond routine JormaUlirs tn ktform Ing one another of their Individual moves vis a vis third countries In most cases, they would maintain discreet tOence How much did Dhaka know of Islamabad s policy directions on Afghanistan, at various stages? How much dM India tell Pakistan of Us proposed mdttary exer else with the United States? Was Bangladesh told well tn advance that India would sign a water sharing treaty wtth Nepal by either New Delhi or Kathmandu?
In short, in sharp contrast to what we see in Southeast Asia, countries tn this region suffer from poor communication, political and eco nomic. among themselues. frequent breakdown in dialogue at the highest level a lack of genuine interest in the mlnisterles of foreign affairs to treat envoys from SAARC countries wtth special considerations
We are yet to know more about the so-called beginning that has been made in Dhaka Delhi relations as a result of the visit of Begum Zia to India I. for one. believe that a new beginning has indeed been made What Is Important is to define It. put In the necessary ingredients and to ensure that the beginning lends to a process of change Here, the gouemment in New Delhi and Dhaka wtl gain much by taking a few useful lessons from South East Asia