(Petaling Jaya, Saturday): I thank the Singapore Member of Parliament for Ayer Rajah and leader of the Singapore-Southeast Asia parliamentary group, Dr. Tan Cheng Bock, for his positive response to my earlier proposal of a Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference with parliamentary delegations from both countries fully mandated to seek solutions to the CIQ issue and other outstanding Malaysia-Singapore issues.
He said that if there was such an official invitation from the Malaysian Parliament to such a Malaysia-Singaproe Parliamentary Conference, he and other Singapore MPs would be very happy to attend.
The question of an official invitation from the Malaysian Parliament to a Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference to discuss CIQ and other outstanding Malaysia-Singapore issues does not arise.
I had indeed made the proposal for a Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference in my urgent, definite public importance motion to adjourn the Malaysian Parliament on Tuesday to debate the latest strain in the Malaysia-Singapore relations.
However, as Barisan Nasional MPs have expressed reservations in my proposal that the Malaysian Parliament formally invite the Singapore Parliament to a Malaysian-Singapore Parliamentary Conference, although they supported the rest of my motion, I had in my subsequent speech in Parliament withdrawn the proposal in order to achieve a Malaysian Parliamentary consensus representing all political parties, whether government or opposition on the issue.
Although there were strong criticisms of the Singapore Government for its handling of relations with Malaysia during the debate in the Malaysian Parliament, what was most important is the consensus of a readiness of the Malaysian Parliament to institute a Parliament-to-Parliament level of relationship to attempt a rapprochment and an amicable settlement of the outstanding disputes between the two countries, with full mandates given to the Parliamentary delegations of both countries to fully explore and reach a new basis to build a new Malaysia-Singapore relationship.
As this is the consensus of the Malaysian Parliament, it is now for the Singapore Parliament to meet in a special session to reciprocate the Malaysian Parliament's consensus of a readiness for a Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference to explore amicable settlement of CIQ and other outstanding Malaysia-Singapore disputes.
I thank Dr. Tan Cheng Bock for his positive response to my proposal, and I would ask him to take the initiative to bring about such a response from the Singapore Parliament.
Deputy Speaker, Datuk Ong Tee Kiat, expressed reservations about my earlier proposal for a Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference in his comments to Sin Chew Jit Poh yesterday, doubting the "binding character" of the Conference as it could not have any influence on the government's decision-making powers.
Ong Tee Kiat is being quite naïve in his comments. Firstly, I had made it very clear that such a proposed Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference must be represented with parliamentary delegations from both countries "fully mandated to seek solutions to the CIQ issue and other outstanding Malaysia-Singapore issues", which can only come about with express or implied government support.
Ong Tee Kiat knows better than anyone else that there could be no such Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference without full support from the Malaysian and Singapore governments, as parliamentary democracy in both Malaysia and Singapore have not reached a stage as in certain European countries where there is a clear distinction between Parliament and the Executive, with Parliaments playing a fully independent and autonomous role from that of the Executive, at times even taking a different position from that of the Executive.
This is completely unheard-of for both Parliaments in Malaysia and Singapore and this is why nobody would believe if the proposed Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference is held, that the Malaysian or Singapore parliamentary delegation would have committed itself to a position without the full endorsement, express or tacit, from the respective governments.
The Malaysia-Singapore Parliamentary Conference would have provided space for the defusion of the tension between the two countries, by providing an additional level of contact and discussion between the leaders of both countries - i.e. Parliament-to-Parliament apart from government-to-government.
The inability of the Parliaments of Singapore and Malaysia to play an autonomous role in bilateral relations of both countries separate and distinct from that of their respective governments is a reflection of the distance that has to be travelled by both Singapore and Malaysia before a strong, vibrant, independent and mature Parliamentary institution could emerge in both countries.
I must thank Tee Kiat for his comments which enable me to highlight this important point, which should be food for thought for thinking Malaysians and Singaporeans.
In this connection, the latest survey of the Hong-Kong based Political & Economic Consultancy Ltd (Perc) on national institutions in Asia cannot be more timely.
Although the PERC survey has rated Singapore's national institutions as the best in Asia, with its monetary authority receiving the best score, the Singapore Parliament got the worst.
Overall, Thailand is deemed to have the weakest national institutions among 11 east Asian countries, while Malaysia ranks third out of the 11 countries after Singapore and Hong Kong. Only two economies, Singapore and Hongkong, were rated as having above average institutions.
The PERC conducted the survey in the second quarter among more than 400 senior executives working in Asia on their perceptions of certain key national institutions. Releasing the report this week, PERC said that "There would seem to be a close correlation between the quality of a country's national institutions and its ability to steer a steady course through the current economic crisis".
Most American, Australian and European respondents told PERC survey that their home countries' institutions are superior to anything in Asia. One exception was the police and judiciary of a few Asian countries. Many western expatriates, mainly Americans, feel safer in certain Asian countries than they do in their home country.
The PERC scores on its survey on "Quality of National Institutions"
are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(8/8/98)