Singapore statesman's visit proof old enmity is waning
There was a time when the father of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, was extremely unwelcome in Malaysia.
But in another sign of a recent thaw in the long-frozen relationship between the two countries, he arrived in Kuala Lumpur this week to address a good governance forum on the topic of integrity.
Such an invitation would have been unthinkable under former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad, who had crossed swords with Mr Lee before he took Singapore out of the Malaysian Federation in 1965.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi will open the forum today with a keynote address.
Mr Lee seldom visits Malaysia, and when he does, he is usually dogged by controversy.
In a 2000 visit, he caused outrage among Dr Mahathir's ruling Umno members when he bluntly declared that the jailing of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on charges of corruption and sodomy was an 'unmitigated disaster'.
The enmity between Mr Lee, now 81, and his then-Malaysian counterpart goes back to the 1960s, when they clashed as members of Parliament in a united Malaysia.
Even then, Mr Lee lectured on meritocracy and equal rights for all Malaysians, and argued that a Chinese immigrant could become the prime minister of Malaysia.
Dr Mahathir, then an obscure politician, emerged as the champion of Malay political supremacy and the leading proponent of special privileges for native Malays, which would allow them to catch up with the economically advanced Chinese.
The two leaders seldom agreed on anything and consequently their governments were constantly at loggerheads over a variety of issues, right up to the day Dr Mahathir retired in October 2003.
'The acrimony deepened after Singapore gained independence, and became worse during Dr Mahathir's 22-year tenure as prime minister as the differences festered and became state policy,' one political analyst said.
The pair were involved in heated rows over land reclamation, the price of water Malaysia delivered to Singapore, the sovereignty of barren outcrops, and a proposed bridge to replace the causeway spanning the Johor Strait.
But now, things are very different.
Mr Lee arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday and 'dropped by' Mr Abdullah's office. The two men enjoyed a quiet round of golf.
Meanwhile, Mr Abdullah's wife, Endon Mahmud, was holding an exhibition in Singapore of 70 of her best kebaya, or traditional Malay dresses, from her private collection. The guest of honour at the event was Ho Ching, wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
'Both sides are tired of the constant conflict that they find unproductive,' said Ramon Navaratnam, a former senior civil servant.
