Singapore diplomats were 'impartial observers' to Malaysia’s Bersih 3 rally

How bad did it get for Singapore-Malaysia ties when rumors of their active participation sparked?

Ministry of Foreign Affairs cries out foul over alleged active participation of Singapore diplomats to a major electoral reforms rally in Kuala Lumpur in Apri.

Here's an excerpt of MFA K Shanmugam's speech before the Parliament yesterday:

So there have been allegations, in the Malaysian media and elsewhere, that Singaporean diplomats actively participated in Malaysia’s Bersih 3 rally in April this year.

Let me state clearly and unequivocally that that is not so. Our officers from the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur were present at the rally. But they were there as impartial observers, as were many diplomats from more than 10 other countries.

Our officers were doing their duty. They were there as observers. They did not participate in Bersih 3.0. They did not wear yellow shirts or take any action to affiliate themselves with any political entity. They also avoided Merdeka Square, which had been declared out of bounds by the Malaysian authorities.

Singapore does not interfere in any country’s domestic politics, just as we expect other countries to refrain from interfering in our own. Our officers abroad operate under these clear instructions.

Our High Commission in Kuala Lumpur is present at a wide range of social, economic and political activities in Malaysia. This is part of their normal professional diplomatic duties, like any other Embassy or High Commission.

Let me quote Article 3(d) of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that the function of a diplomatic mission comprises, inter alia, “ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State”. The actions of our diplomats and, as far as we know, the actions of diplomats from other countries at Bersih 3.0 were in accordance with the Vienna Convention.

So it is regrettable that some elements in the Malaysian media and blogs have chosen to focus only on Singapore and tried to deliberately misrepresent the issue.

A Malaysian newspaper commentary the week before acknowledged that foreign diplomats from North America and Europe were at the rally but tried to insinuate that other diplomats were participating “passively” whereas our diplomats were doing otherwise. This was clearly an attempt to twist the facts to suit their baseless claims.

I will emphasise, repeat that our diplomats were there only in pursuance of the normal duties of all diplomats from all countries to observe and report on political developments in their host countries.
 

Mr Sitoh asked if these allegations will affect our bilateral relations. Singapore-Malaysia ties are strong and broad-based. Our Prime Ministers have a close working relationship, as do our other Ministerial counterparts.

We also cooperate closely and well at the Foreign Ministry level. I speak with my Malaysian counterpart, Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman, on the phone and have a good working relationship with him.

The fact that we have managed to resolve challenging bilateral issues, such as the Points Of Agreement on Malayan Railway Land, says much about what we can do when we work together. We are also cooperating in a number of key areas, including improving connectivity, and making major investments in each other’s countries. But obviously not everyone may be happy with this good state of our relationship.
 

Dato’ Sri Anifah has spoken to our High Commissioner to Malaysia Mr Ong Keng Yong about this matter. I have also spoken with Dato’ Sri Anifah twice on this matter. As I have said earlier, Minister Anifah and I have a good personal relationship and we were able to speak frankly.

We discussed the matter and I made clear what our diplomats did and did not do. We also agreed that Singapore and Malaysia have every intention of preserving our current positive relationship. We have all worked hard to build up the strong ties that we currently enjoy. Neither of us has an interest in undermining the relationship in any way.

We should also not allow any negative elements uncomfortable with the current excellent state of bilateral ties, to spoil our relations. I told Minister Anifah that I look forward to continuing to work with him to further strengthen our relationship.

Relations between Singapore and Malaysia have always been bigger than any specific disagreements or points of contention. This is how it has been and this is how it should be moving forward.