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Singapore Malaysia
The acrimony that once characterized Singapore's
relationship
with Malaysia began to change in the 1980s when the two
countries
adopted a course of reconciliation. The improvement in
relations
began when Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister of
Malaysia. Lee
Kuan Yew and Mahathir achieved a personal rapport that
established
the tone for a rapprochement, but Singapore's expulsion
from
Malaysia in August 1965 continued to color the
relationship.
Singapore's primary concern was that Malaysia maintain a
political
system that tolerated multiracialism. In Singapore's view,
the
undermining of this political principle in Malaysia would
have
regional ramifications. Regional tolerance of
multiracialism, for
example, might be reduced if an Islamic revival in
Malaysia led to
the establishment of an Islamic state and the status of
Malaysia's
Chinese population were subsequently endangered.
Singapore was linked with Malaysia militarily through
the 1971
Five-Powers Defence Arrangement (see Glossary), an
arrangement
under which the security of Singapore and Malaysia was
guaranteed
by Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Singapore
cooperated with
both Malaysia and Indonesia in maintaining the security of
the
Malacca and Singapore straits. Another link with Malaysia
was the
Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC), a forum established in
1980 for
the informal discussion of bilateral issues by delegations
headed
by each country's minister for foreign affairs.
Data as of December 1989
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