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SINGAPORE: Some 10 years after he publicly broached the idea of a Singapore-Malaysia reunion - to raised eyebrows all around - Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has spoken about the topic once again.
In a recent interview with American journalist Tom Plate, Mr Lee said Singapore would be "happy" to go back to Malaysia should the latter practise meritocracy.
On Wednesday, transcripts of the wide-ranging interview - conducted last month in Mr Lee's office - were made available online by UCLA Asia Institute.
When Mr Plate asked Mr Lee who he thought would "come after" Singapore, the Minister Mentor said: "We are a standing indictment of all the things that they (Malaysia) can be doing differently."
"If they would just educate the Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens, they can equal us and even do better than us and we would be happy to rejoin them."
The last time Mr Lee floated the idea in 1996, it caused ripples on both sides of the Causeway, with then-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad replying that he did not think "it is time yet".
While much has changed since then, scepticism towards a reunion remains.
Said Dr Ooi Kee Beng, an Institute of South-east Asian Studies (ISEAS) fellow: "The chances of a re-merger in 1996 and in 2007 are the same - Zero."
While bilateral economic links would continue to increase, Malaysia is far from ditching its decades-old bumiputera policy, "where race-based affirmative action ... has disqualified efficacy as the criterion for policy correctness", Dr Ooi added.
In Parliament, Opposition leader Chiam See Tong is often a lone, but persistent, voice on the issue of an economic union with Malaysia, espousing the benefits of a common market.
Mr Chiam told TODAY: "A political union is out of the question. The Malaysians will never agree."
Dr Ooi added: "The very idea of a re-merger on Singapore's terms is appalling to most Malays (in Malaysia) and any move in that direction would be political suicide for a Malaysian politician to take."
ISEAS' Dr Terence Chong believes that Mr Lee had in mind the future - "50 to 100 years down the road" - when he talked about rejoining Malaysia.
Said Dr Chong: "If you look at historic port cities, they all enjoy their golden eras and then decline. For Singapore to flourish in perpetuity would mean defying history."
Already, Singapore is facing a fight to keep the very talent it had successfully attracted.
Mr Lee acknowledged in the interview that the Chinese students on Singapore Government scholarships were using the Republic as a stepping-stone.
Said Mr Lee: "They come in here, they get an English education ... and they're off to America. The Indians, strangely enough, more of them stay here in Singapore because they want to go home to visit their families."
Mr Lee added: "We are net gainers for how long? I think in the case of China, maybe another 20, 30 years ... India, maybe longer - 50, 60 years before their infrastructure catches up. Anyway, this is not my worry anymore!" - TODAY/ym
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