Video #26 - Malaysia and Singapore: Warming Relations
Monday, January 30, 2006BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Singapore -- which is an island city-state immediately off the Malaysian state of Johor -- was a part of Malaysia until 1959 when it was recognized as a self-governing colony. From there, it further evolved to become an autonomous state in the Malaysian Union in 1963, and went on to become an independent nation in 1965. In the succeeding years, Singapore struggled to get on its feet, facing problems such as mass unemployment and housing shortages and natural resources.
Most of these issues were resolved by the beginning of the 1990s. However, at around the same time the Singapore government was working on these problems, its relations with Malaysia were becoming strained. Many on both sides believe this was due to Malaysia's Prime Minister at the time, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Although he himself had graduated from the University of Singapore, he was rather antagonistic towards the country in his politics. He restricted Singapore companies from being able to invest in Malaysian corporations. He also instituted stronger customs and immigration laws, and created stricter regulations concerning the sale of fresh water to Singapore. The latter was a large issue because Singapore lacks its own freshwater resources and gets roughly 50% of its water from Malaysia.
Since Mahathir stepped down in 2003, the two countries have begun to warm up to each other. Just after the first year, investment agencies of the Singapore government poured roughly 800 million dollars into the Malaysian economy. Similarly, Malaysian corporations have begun to buy shares of Singapore companies. Also notable: in 2005, the two sides resolved a land dispute over the Johor straits which flow between the countries and had long been an issue of contention. Both countries are benefiting socially and economically from resolving their differences and stand to become bigger players in international economics.
SOURCES
Ramesh, S. “ Singapore and Malaysia resolve land reclamation dispute.” Mediacorp News. April 26th, 2005. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/144527/1/.html
“Malaysia and Singapore settle row.” BBC News. January 14th, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4173405.stm
Shameen, Assif. “Malaysia And Singapore: A New Détente” BusinessWeek Online. September 6th, 2004. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_36/b3898081.htm
Mauzy, Diane K.“Water Wars: Singapore vs. Malaysia.” University of British Columbia http://www.politics.ubc.ca/index.php?id=3436
Waipang, Au “Malaysia and Singapore: a conflict of insecurities” Yawning Bread blog March 2002. http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2002/yax-268.htm
“Research Update”. Singapore Institute of International Affairs. February 2003. http://www.siiaonline.org/scm/articles/update-20feb.pdf
Symonds, Peter “Sharp Tensions between Malaysia and Singapore” World Socialist Website. August 19th, 1998. http://www.wsws.org/news/1998/aug1998/mal-a19.shtml
LESSON PLAN
GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: 10-12/Economics, International Relations, World History, International Baccalaureate Programs (IB), Current Events.
PURPOSE: To present activities to be used in a variety of classroom situations in order to enhance student understanding of the Asian economy and its significance globally.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: 1. Describe events leading to the changing relations between Malaysia and Singapore. 2. Learn how a single strong ruler can influence a country's foreign policies. 3. Better understand Singapore's geographical situation and its dependence on Malaysia for certain resources.
MATERIALS: 1. Background information provided. 2. Resources on Japan available at your school's Media Center and the Public Library System in your area. 3. Background information available through Internet "search engines".
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: 1. Understand the history of conflict between the Malaysian-Singapore relations. 2. Be able to explain how past tensions between the two countries is being resolved. 3. Develop ideas on how both countries stand to grow from their close partnership.
ACTIVITIES: May be assigned as group activities or as individual tasks. They may also be designed as preparation for related presentations either by individuals or groups.
1. Have the students create a timeline of the histories of Malaysia and Singapore, noting issues of contention and conflict.
2. Have the students research and report on both sides of the Malaysian/Singapore conflict and discuss the benefits of the resolution between the two countries.
3. Have the students write an editorial for a newspaper (in either country) about the impact of Malaysian and Singapore companies working together and what it means to both countries.
Individual assignments should be graded by the teacher using established criteria.
Group activities, presentations and projects may be evaluated by teachers and students using the following criteria and scale:
EVALUATION:
| Content | 1 = Superior | (A) |
| Creativity | 2 = Excellent | (B) |
| Clarity | 3 = Good | (C) |
| 4 = Fair | (D) | |
| 5 = Poor | (F) |
