A RETIRED Singapore diplomat has waded into the maritime border dispute, accusing Malaysia of “trying to tame or domesticate Singapore”, reports the Straits Times today.

Bilahari Kausikan was responding to Dr Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff’s commentary published in Malaysiakini and Malay Mail yesterday in which the Bersatu supreme council member said Singapore will not gain anything by hardening its stance against Malaysia in the ongoing maritime and airspace boundary dispute in Johor.

Rais’ comments are “very typical” of Malaysia’s expectations that Singapore will subordinate its interests to that of Malaysia’s, Bilahari said in a Facebook post yesterday.

“Very typical – what they expect is subordination of our interests to their interests.

“They have not given up, and never will, trying to tame or domesticate (menjinakan) Singapore, because unless they do so, the intrinsic short-comings of a system based on the dominance of a particular race will be highlighted, particularly since we do better with a different system,” Bilahari said in veiled references to the pro-Malay policies and politics across the Causeway.

The two countries have been embroiled in a spat over their maritime borders since Singapore revealed earlier last week that Malaysia had unilaterally extended the Tanjung Pelepas port limits on October 25.

Singapore also said Malaysian ships, including vessels belonging to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Department, have made 14 intrusions into its territorial waters over the past two weeks.

Protesting the “unlawful activities”, Singapore has called on Malaysia to withdraw the vessels and return to the pre-October 25 status quo.

Bilahari added that “if we accept a subordinate position, can we prosper? Is existence by the leave and favour of some other country acceptable? That is what this character’s demands amount to.

“This is the essential reason why a small country should never behave as a small country, that is behave in a way bigger neighbours demand.”

Rais in his op-ed piece said Singapore “kept growing and growing” after its separation from Malaysia in 1965 but without Malaysia “providing all forms of auxiliary support, be they passive or active”, its southern neighbour “would arguably not be where it is”.

“A small gesture of kindness to Malaysia, even the occasional appreciative word, would be nice.

“Instead, Singapore often takes a holier-than-thou approach – believing that only they are right and everyone else is wrong. This includes the current spat over the 1979 maritime border.

“If Singapore has reached an economic size that is larger than ours, why can’t we consider them to be an equal power that we respect, yet demand due privilege – or right – from, in terms of adjusting the price of water sold to them?”  

Under the 1962 water agreement, Singapore’s national water agency, PUB, may draw 250 million gallons of raw water from Sg Johor daily, at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons. – December 10, 2018.