YOURSAY | Singapore’s image sullied by Najib meeting

YOURSAY | ‘Did Najib invest billions that Singapore has to pay homage to him?’

COMMENT | By meeting Najib, S’pore minister dishonours M’sians

Mosquitobrain: Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, why did you not meet former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad? He is also a former leader.

Instead, you met with a world-renowned kleptocrat and convict, ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak. This is not a smart move and a direct insult to Malaysians.

We know Singapore is hard up for capital investments to boost the city state’s image as a financial centre. Did Najib invest billions to the extent that Singapore has to pay homage to him?

Is this the way the Singaporean government treats its ally and neighbour? The Singapore Foreign Ministry owes every Malaysian an answer.

Daniel: Many of us have high respect for our southern neighbour’s supposedly intolerance for corruption. However, we must not forget that its banking system was used by many as a conduit to siphon money offshore.

Najib is likely their preferred prime minister choice for Malaysia, either because of their grip on his shenanigans there or the ease of making deals with him.

Remember that even former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew had to meet the ‘First Lady of Malaysia’, Naijb’s wife Rosmah Mansor, during his visit.

All these recent happenings only point to the inevitable and Vivian is only a sideshow.

OCT: This is bad diplomacy shown by the Singaporean government. Perhaps the minister thinks Najib will make a comeback in the near future. Thus, he doesn't want to burn bridges.

This is a dangerous game played by Singapore. The rakyat need to prove them wrong. Malaysia should teach Singapore a thing or two not to campur tangan (interfere).

Anon25: There is nothing wrong with Vivian meeting with Najib as part of a courtesy call. Especially if many Malaysians are still fawning over Najib. And he even has been allowed to visit Singapore in spite of his conviction.

Remember Najib was a friend to Singaporean leaders while he was still in power.

GanMu: @Anon25, talking about courtesy call - what about doing a similar one with Mahathir, a very senior leader and two-time prime minister? Given his advanced age, a courtesy call by a friendly neighbour would have been applauded.

Najib, in his current situation, needs to grab at every straw that comes his way to gain attention. He has baited PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to a debate.

Now he is trying hard to get DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, too, who is a class far above him and who won’t touch him with a 10ft pole.

One may come up with many explanations to justify the Singaporean minister’s action, but the fact still remains - a wrong is a wrong.

Lepak: Singapore's Lee family and the Razak family go back a very long way. There are personal bonds as well as strategic considerations. Singapore will always consider a Razak family-led Malaysia a more palatable choice than any alternative.

They've never been too fond of Mahathir or Anwar, or those Malay politicians who still consider Singapore a part of Malaysia.

So with Najib clearly on his way back, this meeting was just Singapore using an opportunity to give their own little push to the former PM.

1MDB and Najib's legal troubles? “Not our problem,” they'll say.

On the Other Hand: @Lepak, not their problem? Isn’t this visit just the tip of an iceberg of moral bankruptcy?

We can't forget that Najib laundered his money right under the noses of the Singapore authorities, who didn't know or pretended not to know. Singapore only acted on the 1MDB scandal after the scandal was reported in the world press.

TTSH: Malaysians are a funny lot. When DAP MP Tony Pua attacked the Johor Chinese school board members for meeting with Najib, the knives were out for Pua.

Scathing remarks were thrown at him such as ‘mou tai mou sai’ (no respect for elders) or that people were more interested in “bread and butter issues”.

The Singaporean minister can visit whoever he chooses. All I am interested in is my own country's problems and how we deal with Najib.

Malaysia returned Najib his passport so he could enter Singapore to visit his daughter. So, the big message from us to others is that "Najib is a free man".

Just a Malaysian: No one can dishonour us except ourselves.

Najib stole massive amounts but he and his hotshot lawyers are allowed to play all kinds of games to delay the proceedings, making a mockery of our judiciary system. Even the judge who convicted him was not spared.

Najib struts around with bodyguards and is chauffeured by outriders, accompanied by shouts of ‘Bossku’. He attended a Hari Raya celebration at the palace in Pahang. He was cheered on by Chinese educationists in Johor. It seems like he also has a new wife.

And all of you are so angry just because a Singaporean minister met up with him. We have done a great job dishonouring ourselves without any outside help. This ‘national embarrassment’ has become our icon.

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