Bilahari Kausikan no stranger to making controversial comments
December 13th, 2010 | Author: Editorial
Singapore’s permanent secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Mr Bilahari Kausikan, who received much flak for his unflattering remarks about neighboring countries in a series of diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks is no stranger to making controversial comments.
Mr Kausikan reportedly told a visiting U.S. official that “a lack of competent leadership is a real problem in Malaysia” and that “Indians are stupid.”
His remarks were given extensive publicity in the region, sparking a massive outcry.
Malaysia opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has already indicated it will table an emergency motion in parliament next week to discuss the issue.
This is not the first time that Mr Kausikan has made some controversial remarks publicly.
In 2006, when asked about the re-training for low-income workers and the relentless influx of foreigners, he replied callously:
“We have to be realistic. There is a limit to how much re-training we can do for some workers, so we have to look overseas. Look at my generation, more than half of them didn’t even complete primary school education. What are we going to do? They are not going to conveniently die off…”
As Foreign Minister George Yeo did not reprimand or condemn Mr Kausikan’s remarks, we can only assume that he concurred with him.
.
Jay
December 13th, 2010 | Author: Editorial
Singapore’s permanent secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Mr Bilahari Kausikan, who received much flak for his unflattering remarks about neighboring countries in a series of diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks is no stranger to making controversial comments.
Mr Kausikan reportedly told a visiting U.S. official that “a lack of competent leadership is a real problem in Malaysia” and that “Indians are stupid.”
His remarks were given extensive publicity in the region, sparking a massive outcry.
Malaysia opposition party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has already indicated it will table an emergency motion in parliament next week to discuss the issue.
This is not the first time that Mr Kausikan has made some controversial remarks publicly.
In 2006, when asked about the re-training for low-income workers and the relentless influx of foreigners, he replied callously:
“We have to be realistic. There is a limit to how much re-training we can do for some workers, so we have to look overseas. Look at my generation, more than half of them didn’t even complete primary school education. What are we going to do? They are not going to conveniently die off…”
As Foreign Minister George Yeo did not reprimand or condemn Mr Kausikan’s remarks, we can only assume that he concurred with him.
.
Jay
