“Singapore Seen Overtaking Malaysia 45 Years After Lee’s Tears”

Don’t be a sore loser, Dr M — Lee Wei Lian
UPDATED @ 10:06:15 AM 12-11-2010 November 12, 2010

NOV 12 — Really Dr Mahathir? Really? Singapore will overtake Malaysia just because it focuses on economic growth and has no fair distribution of wealth between the races?

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s cringe-worthy response to news that Singapore is poised to surpass Malaysia and become Asean’s third-largest economy by the end of this year really makes him look like a sore loser who makes excuses and won’t own up to shortcomings.

“Singapore will overtake Malaysia because its focus is just on economic growth,” Dr Mahathir had told Bloomberg in a story headlined “Singapore Seen Overtaking Malaysia 45 Years After Lee’s Tears”.

“There is no social restructuring goal such as fair distribution of wealth between races as we have in Malaysia.”

Two things really bug me here — why didn’t Dr Mahathir acknowledge Singapore’s world-class policies many of which are worth emulating and why didn’t he do a post-mortem on his own as a leader who is accountable for Malaysia’s past performance that contributed to the present situation? After 22 years in power, he should be able to come up with a better reason of why Malaysia is getting its ass whooped by Singapore than “they don’t have fair distribution of wealth between races”.

World Bank figures show that in 1980, the year before Dr Mahathir came into power, Singapore’s economy was less than half the size of Malaysia’s — US$11.73 billion vs US$24.94 billion.

By the time it was mid-way through his administration though, Singapore — with less than one-quarter our population and with very limited land and no natural resources — had already reached a stunning 87 per cent of Malaysia’s economy in 1991 — US$43 billion vs US$49 billion.

In 2002, the year before he left office Singapore’s GDP was at 87 per cent that of Malaysia’s — US$88 billion vs US$101 billion.

The ringgit, meanwhile, did a backward somersault in its spectacular dive from near parity with the Singapore dollar in 1980. By 1991, one Singapore dollar bought RM1.50. And by 2002, one ringgit was worth only about 50 Singapore cents. So basically, our currency shrank to half the value of the Singapore dollar during Dr Mahathir’s time. But that’s because they don’t have “fair distribution of wealth between races” right?

The toxic rivalry Dr Mahathir feels with Singapore in general and its former PM Lee Kuan Yew in particular is well known. The Bloomberg headline encapsulates the situation near perfectly — “Singapore Seen Overtaking Malaysia 45 Years After Lee’s Tears”.

Given the economic evidence, saying Dr Mahathir lost does not even begin to describe it. In more adequate gamer parlance — he got pwned and made to look like a noob. But still, that’s no reason to give excuses.

There is a saying — there is none so blind as those who will not see. Being asked the reasons for tiny Singapore overtaking Malaysia and replying that they don’t have “fair distribution of wealth between races” just doesn’t cut it.

I only hope Datuk Seri Najib Razak is capable of a better response.

In the meantime Dr Mahathir, enough with the excuses and try not to be a sore loser.

* Petaling Jaya-born Lee Wei Lian is a senior writer with The Malaysian Insider.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/dont-be-a-sore-loser-dr-m-lee-wei-lian/