MALAYSIA DOES NOT NEED LEE KUAN YEW'S ADVICE - FORMER PM ABDULLAH

KEPALA BATAS (Penang, Malaysia), Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia does not need any advice from Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew because it has its own way of governing the country which comprises multi-racial people, said former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said the cultural diversification and racial composition in Malaysia was
far different from that of Singapore.

"We are too different from Singapore and Lee's statement which criticised
the system being practised in this country cannot be accepted because Malaysia
has adopted a different set of approaches and measures in managing issues
involving the cultures and religions of its multi-racial population," he told
reporters after hosting an Aidilfitri open house here Saturday.

Lee, in an interview published in the New York Times on Sept 1, had
criticised the governing system system practised in Malaysia and accused that
Malaysia was not being fair and had been sidelining its minority ethnic groups.

In the interview, Lee also envisioned that Malaysia could have done much
better if it was not separated from Singapore because the island republic had
achieved outstanding racial harmony.

Abdullah, who is Kepala Batas Member of Parliament, also refuted Lee's
allegation that Malaysia had been sidelining minority ethnic groups in the
country.

"If we really did that (sidelining minority ethnic groups), Malaysia would
have been in trouble all along. We never sidelined any ethnic groups because all
of them are equally important to the country," he said.

Unlike Singapore, Abdullah said, Malaysia was far bigger and consisted of
various races and ethnic groups including those in Sabah and Sarawak.

"So far, there is no issue of certain races being sidelined and the
government has always been fair to all races," he added.
--BERNAMA