Appendix C - Malaysians' Comments on Singapore-Malaysia Relations

Summary

Some prominent Malaysians offered their comments on the present status of relations between Singapore and Malaysia. The following are the responses.

Taufik bin Tun Dr Ismail, Chairman, Tun Dr Ismail International School, Malaysia: I was involved indirectly in business with Singapore via the creation of TV3 in 1984. Broadcasting across borders during that time was a challenge to the Singapore Government's Mandarin policy, since TV3 was sending Cantonese dialect entertainment free on the airwaves. It gave marketers and advertisers on the Malaysian side unparalleled access via a popular medium to the Singapore population, which until then were not enamoured by Malaysia fare.

Unfortunately and understandably, there were no statistics available to assess the impact, but the response of the Singapore Government was to improve the quality and choice of programmes, which resulted in a ratings war across borders that must have benefited consumerism on both sides of the Causeway. I believe the media industry in Singapore boomed as a result of this challenge from the Malaysian end — probably the only example of a free product giving immeasurable gains.

From 1998, I have been involved directly in the education sector at the International School level, where the challenge has been more difficult, and the response from the other side of the Causeway, one of disinterest. More than 5,000 Malaysian students cross the Causeway every day in attempting to achieve their dreams of getting a world-class education. I sensed a niche existed for expatriates living in Johore Bahru who would welcome a cheaper, but equally satisfying service. Thus far the local response to this initiative has been unsatisfactory because the Caucasian expatriate community in Johore Bahru, hired by corporations, had personal benefits that allowed them to send their children, without much personal financial sacrifice, across the Causeway. On the other hand, there is a sizeable group of East and West Asian parents that find the strong Singapore dollar an inconvenience, and this is where the niche is. Since education is a key infrastructure in Johore's quest for foreign investment, it also has the potential to grow as long as Singapore continues to be an expensive place to live in.