you sure have a warped logic. on the same logic Mahatir can also claim likewise that singapore sabotage Malaysia by hosting F1 and building 2 casinoes later to undercut Malaysia in tourism and gambling revenues. as much as I am a local your argument doesn't make sense. by the same logic you can also accuse Shanghai port of undercutting too, but now it is China you are talking about and nobody has the gall to speak out loud (for you know the Chinaman is dammn petty and might just hit back in other ways like in suzhou project, that why nobody accuse China of unfair play unless you are big like USA). it's more sour grapes attitude. in love as well as in in business all is fair and square. you do your business and I do mine so long as it is done in my territory.
So there’s no bad blood between Singapore and Malaysia? At all? I don’t suppose you’re in the negative on this one.
And if there is, then are we to suppose that behind the business decision making, amongst all other business considerations, there is no trace, absolutely, of a desire to see Singapore ‘go down’, at least on this port issue, and derive a pleasurable triumph of getting a good hit at the opponent?
This is the thrust of my argument, which you seemed to miss out somewhat if not entirely. And from the lens of this miscomprehension, of course you perceived the logic as “warped” and “doesn’t make sense”.
There are emotional hang-ups between the two countries, or rather the two administrations, and we just cannot remove this hidden factor out of the entire equation, an equation that expresses rational business decision making and responses to competition. However, in no way have I speculated that the malicious intent, or ill-will towards Singapore, weighs heavily in their decision making on commercial enterprises. What I’m saying is that it exists.
I quote: “by the same logic you can also accuse Shanghai port of undercutting too “. There is no history of significant emotional hang-ups between Singapore and Shanghai. When I extend my line of logic, I don’t see how it can arrive at the conclusion of accusing Shanghai of undercutting, hence, you may be following a line of logic quite different from mine.
You mentioned that Singapore is afraid to speak out against shanghai because it is part of China. Alright, maybe this Shanghai port example I cited doesn’t bring my point across saliently. So does Singapore view all its other competitors this way, the way we view Malaysia’s competition? Enlighten me if I’m wrong but I don’t think so.
“….on the same logic Mahatir can also claim likewise that singapore sabotage Malaysia by hosting F1 and building 2 casinoes…” I’m not sure if I can synchronise my thoughts to your line of logic, the logic you derived from your own understanding of my points. I’ll try my best though…..now, because there’s animosity and antagonism prevalent in both sides, Mahathir will not likely view Singapore’s success without sensing a hint of “Look I’m successful here and you’re not” (My opinion here is based on our conventional understanding of human psychology) So, you’re quite right in that Mahathir could feel some discomfort, but not in the sense that Singapore tries to sabotage but to prove a point.