It is indeed a good news to hear that after a prolonged mistrust both sides of the causeway are seeing common ground to link to China through a speed-rail link. It is high time both neighbors work out a friendly attitude towards each other and contribute to the general well-being of both people. One should not build national policy on the basis of an individual's madness for leadership, and using that to victimise innocent people who do not share in the same madness. We should not misread history for his story.
The causeway relations in the past had been a one-sided affair. I do not know why at each interaction it is Malaysia which is giving into the dictates of Singapore. Be it the crooked bridge or the Batu Puteh Atol or the Water issue. In every case the Malaysian cave into Singapore's demands. Is it because Singapore presented its case better than the Malaysian, or is it because the Singapore side keeps the records and make relevant references to them, or it is because those representing Malaysia do not have the courage to speak out, or is it because some of the Malaysians were caught with their pants down, or is it because some Malaysians have been paid to dodge the Malaysian case. I simply do not know. Being a Muslim from Singapore, I feel the way Muslims in Malaysia have handled the causeway deals that smack of incompetency and secret collusion for personal gain by selling the dignity of the country. This is not only the case with the Muslims in Malaysia. This is also happening in a number of Muslim countries where Muslims are tricked and forced into parting with their lands and there is no one to challenge this day-light robbery using international institutions created by these robbers to justify their usurpation. Have our Muslim leaders become toothless and ball-less that they could not defend the sovereignty of their lands? The Indonesians went into East Timor (Timor Leste) with the support of the big powers only vacate with defeat after the same backers started barking at them. Now following this so-called independence of that land the Papuans are demanding independence from Indonesia for the part of Iryan Jaya. I feel essentially some thing is really wrong.
The proposed Kunmin-Singapore rail link will definitely benefit the countries through which the rail-link stretches out. Certainly the real beneficiaries will be the Chinese of Asean as they are connected to the mother-land. The same will be done to link India with Singapore. But the rail link will stop at Bangkok instead. Even the Rohingya problem must be read in this light, as the Myanmar government is under pressure to secure lands for the railway link that may run along the Arakan coast. So by removing the so-called stateless people from that part of the country the Myanmar regime can reserve those lands for the proposed Calcutta-Bangkok rail-net work. But then by so doing are these countries trying to reduce the flight services that have mushroomed across the region with caption like "now everyone can fly". Moreover as the Western economy shrinks and the Eastern economies expand all these rail netwok will be economically viable. But then we must watch out for political instability that may derail this laudable and ambitious project.
Than coming back to the causeway relations, whatever these proposed rail links may bring to these two countries one thing they must do is to stop meddling in the internal affairs of each others. They should stop at scratching each other's backs only and not anything lower than that, however pleasurable it may be, because along with such pleasure comes pain. The recent spat of sex scandals that are published in both sides of the causeway tends to portray an tendency to scratch beyond the back. This needs to be kept in check.
READ: Sing-Mal Express LinkThe proposed Kunmin-Singapore rail link will definitely benefit the countries through which the rail-link stretches out. Certainly the real beneficiaries will be the Chinese of Asean as they are connected to the mother-land. The same will be done to link India with Singapore. But the rail link will stop at Bangkok instead. Even the Rohingya problem must be read in this light, as the Myanmar government is under pressure to secure lands for the railway link that may run along the Arakan coast. So by removing the so-called stateless people from that part of the country the Myanmar regime can reserve those lands for the proposed Calcutta-Bangkok rail-net work. But then by so doing are these countries trying to reduce the flight services that have mushroomed across the region with caption like "now everyone can fly". Moreover as the Western economy shrinks and the Eastern economies expand all these rail netwok will be economically viable. But then we must watch out for political instability that may derail this laudable and ambitious project.
Than coming back to the causeway relations, whatever these proposed rail links may bring to these two countries one thing they must do is to stop meddling in the internal affairs of each others. They should stop at scratching each other's backs only and not anything lower than that, however pleasurable it may be, because along with such pleasure comes pain. The recent spat of sex scandals that are published in both sides of the causeway tends to portray an tendency to scratch beyond the back. This needs to be kept in check.
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