Malaysia Jealous Of Singapore? "That's A Shallow View," Says Foreign Ministry Official.

The claim by a Singapore member of parliament that Malaysia was jealous of Singapore's progress was a shallow view, the Dewan Rakyat was told Thursday.

Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the claim was unwarranted as Malaysia held to the "Prosper Thy Neighbour" concept in fostering friendly ties with its neighbours.

In line with the concept, Malaysia believed the success and prosperity enjoyed by any neighbouring country was also good for the country, he said.

"As a sovereign nation in a region where the countries are inter-twined and dependent on each other, Malaysia wants its neighbours to succeed and prosper as their prosperity can be shared through spin-offs," he said when replying to Datuk Dr Abdul Rahaman Ismail (BN-Gombak) during question time.

Dr Abdul Rahman had asked the extent of truth to the claim by a Singapore member of parliament that Malaysia was jealous of Singapore and what action the government took to address the claim.

Ahmad Shabery said Malaysia-Singapore bilateral relations were still "haunted" by unsettled issues and historical ties.

Nonetheless, Malaysia still pursued good neighbourliness with its neighbours by maintaining close and friendly bilateral ties with them, he said.

Replying to a supplementary question from the same member, Ahmad Shabery said the negative perception of some Asean countries on their neighbours would not jeopardise efforts to establish an Asean Common Market by 2015.

"We can establish the common market if we are conscious of our respective roles. We believe the reservations of some Asean countries on Singapore will not be an obstacle for us to have friendly ties with any country," he added. (Bernama)

***** I don't know who the Hon. shit stirrer in the Singapore Parliament is, but we need this type of argument and controversy like we need the bird flu. Why don't those who have nothing better to do, spend their destructive free time visiting a monastery in Tibet or go on a fault-finding mission to somewhere far, where their dirty mouth cannot cause unnecessary trouble between nations?

The Foreign Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek should be congratulated for a very calm response. Hopefully no one will play up the Singapore idiot's claims.
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Interesting piece of news reported on April 12 2000 quoting one of our idiots!: Singapore jealous of Malaysia's progress, minister says.