Reflections | Singaporeans and Malaysians squabbling over border behaviour should look at 2 ancient Chinese states before forgetting how close they really are

Despite being separate, equal and independent nations, Singapore and Malaysia are symbiotic in a manner that is rarely encountered in present times

Two similarly close Chinese states discovered why such ties shouldn’t be taken for granted, giving rise to the saying: ‘without lips, the teeth will be cold’

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Hundreds of people queue up at the Woodlands Checkpoint to cross the Singapore-Malaysia border at the stroke of midnight for the first time in two years on March 31, 2022. Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Wee Kek Koon

Published: 11:47am, 21 Apr 2022

Malaysia and Singapore further opened their borders to each other’s citizens and residents on April 1, restoring pre-Covid travel protocols for fully vaccinated individuals. But the initial euphoria quickly dissipated when photographs and videos of badly behaving owners of Singapore-registered vehicles went viral.

There were a handful of incidents like reckless driving, pumping subsidised petrol meant for Malaysians only, and so on, but human nature being what it is, many Malaysians conflated the perpetrators of these isolated but widely shared incidents with the entire population of a country.

It doesn’t matter that hundreds of thousands of Singaporean visitors, friends and relatives are generally well-behaved in Malaysia. Some people will see what they want to see. It doesn’t help, of course, when opportunistic politicians wade in to muddy the waters.

Whenever Malaysians and Singaporeans get caught up in spats like these – from trivialities like who has the better street food and the perceived condescending attitude of Singaporeans, to more serious issues like water supply, territorial disputes and air space – people of both countries forget how close the two countries really are, not just geographically, but also historically and culturally.

Cars at the Woodlands Checkpoint wait to cross the Singapore-Malaysia border on March 31, 2022. Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

When we consider the recorded past – all seven centuries of it – the island of Singapore and the Malay Peninsula have been together much longer than they have been apart.

The sultans of Melaka justified their right to rule by claiming descent from the legendary kings of Temasek (the ancient name of Singapore). The present royal family of the state of Johor, the Malaysian state immediately north of Singapore, are direct descendants of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, an important official in Singapore who played an instrumental role in establishing the British presence on the island in 1819.