Friday, October 26, 2007

George Yeo's used the word 'trouble makers'

Dr Lily Neo: Mr Speaker Sir, MM had said that an unstable Myanmar is a "time bomb" for Southeast Asia. Could Minister elaborate on it? Are ASEAN countries in agreement with this view? Should such scenarios be discussed in ASEAN countries so that all can be better prepared to mitigate such eventualities?

REPLY

Minister: It is true that Myanmar is a ticking time bomb. For the time being, because of the way the government has been able to arrest ‘trouble-makers’ and intimidate the population, there is an apparent return to normalcy.



The word 'trouble-makers' is an insult to the peaceful demonstrators including monks and nuns. Although the Foreign Minister probably referred to the word used by Burmese Junta, it was not a wise choice, for we, Burmese, felt greatly insulted by it. It leads us to think Singapore has no genuine desire to help the oppressed general population but the cruel military only. By saying so, the trip to the Buddhist Monastery was wasted.


Q&A source: BEYOND SG

1 comments:

ကုိေပါ said...

They, SPDC and Singapore gov, are just birds of the same feather. George Yeo was not referring to the word used by Burmese Junta when he said "Trouble-makers". It is in fact Minister Mentor Lee Kuen Yew's favourite term for the dissidents in Singapore.

The trip to the Burmese Buddhist temple is just a face-saving trip. You might have heard the Burmese saying "Thay-Melt-Hnit-Hmar, Sit-Htel-like" meaning "joining the army in the year of great soldier casualities". Well, Singapore became the ASEAN Chair just before the time Myanmar returned into the international spotlight. Therefore, to appease the international community's demand to reconsider Singapore's relation with Burma, they (the Sg officials) were trying to put on the face they are not totally familiar with. That explains their inconsistencies. Thanks for your posts.
With best regards,
Ko Paw