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Singapore part of Malaysia? US red-faced after ‘reunification’ blunder in Pompeo comments
State Department published remarks by the top diplomat ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, which said the city state was part of its neighbour
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As the US prepared for a summit some hoped may bring peace to the long-divided Korean peninsula, Washington accidentally hinted at another unlikely reunion by listing Singapore as part of Malaysia.
The US State Department published on its website remarks made Monday by top diplomat Mike Pompeo ahead of the historic meeting, in a post initially stating they were delivered at a hotel in “Singapore, Malaysia”.
The wealthy financial hub and its larger neighbour were part of the same country for two years in the 1960s until Singapore was expelled over ethnic divisions with Malaysia, and they have been separate nations ever since.
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The slip-up was quickly corrected after it started to go viral but not before triggering sniggers from netizens, with one Facebook user lamenting: “To the average American, the world is America.”
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