Reduce the defence expenditure they said. No need for national service, they said. There is no threats, they said.
Malaysia experienced a massive Bersih 3.0 protest which turn violent in April 2012. With a general election looming in Malaysia, the Singapore Government is accused of interfering in Malaysia's domestic politics. The allegations on several blogs claimed that three Singaporean diplomats were interfering in Malaysian politics by participating in April's Bersih rally, which called for electoral reform.
Given such a tense domestic environment in Malaysia, Singapore could be likely used as a punching bag to draw the country together. Through aggressive posturing and heated rhetoric, the government could shift the national conversation to an “us vs them” battle.
Here is an excerpt of Singapore Matters blog, posted 30 April 30:
In Defence of Singapore's High Defence Expenditure
At the moment, the prospect of our security being undermined by our immediate neighbours remains admittedly low. But we can’t forget that the political situation in these countries remains shaky. This is especially evident in Malaysia, our closest neighbour.
Currently, the opposition coalition has about ⅓ of the seats in Parliament. It is very much possible that the opposition Keadilan coalition, which includes the Islamist PAS party, forms Government sometime soon. How would this Government work ? What would its stance towards Singapore be ? Would it be jealous of our success or work to emulate it ? We can’t be sure.
If the opposition coalition does indeed form government, there would likely be a high degree of domestic squabbling within the coalition itself regarding each individual party’s status. Also, Barisan Nasional, while weakened would still retain some of its formidable political machinery to give the new government a hard job governing. Given such a tense domestic environment in Malaysia, Singapore could be likely used as a punching bag to draw the country together. Through aggressive posturing and heated rhetoric, the government could shift the national conversation to an “us vs them” battle.
Ultimately, we must understand that no one needs to launch an attack to harm us and mere threatening itself might have a crippling effect on our nation. It is often said that the fear of suffering is worse than suffering itself. What this means is that our defence capability must ideally go beyond just protecting us when harmed and also ensure that people can live without any worries regardless what the nature of the threat is.
To ensure this, a strong emphasis on defence is required. Given our superior edge gained through far greater levels of investment in defence, politicians from our neighbouring countries have little ground to even skirt with the possibility of harming us.
Our high level of expenditure on defence, gives the local and foreign population a peace of mind facilitating commerce and long term engagements with us.
Singapore Matters blog:
In Defence of Singapore's High Defence Expenditure
http://singaporematters.blogspot.sg/2012/04/in-defence-of-singapores-high-defence_30.html
See MFA spokeperson's statement refuting the allegation here:
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120622-0000131/Singapores-MFA-refutes-allegations
