What else can we do? Take fresh approach

FM George Yeo said (at dialogue session between Foreign Minister and 50 students from the Singapore Management University 0n Friday,)

If we freeze the bank accounts of those whom we don’t like, after a while we will cease to be a financial center.

On Junta leaders seeking medical treatment here, he said turning them away was not helpful to a policy of engagement which is what works best to get a country to change.

Mr Yeo asked: “ what else can we do? Invade Myanmar? Remove Than Swe, the way the Americans removed Saddam Hussein? Then What after that.

( excerpts from Today Newspaper, 10 November)

I don’t want to argue on his defense for Singapore financial center if Singapore freeze the Junta bank accounts. Please bear in mind that keeping the Junta money in Singapore is like keeping robbed money , that is against the civilized law.

Regarding on Mr Yeo question on” what else we can do”, there are so many ways Singapore can help Burmese. The people of Burma will whole heartedly welcome if troops led by Singapore come into Burma to topple the Junta. Burma will not be a scenario like Iraq after invasion. There is no hatred between ethnic minorities like Kurds and Iraqi, no religious division in Burma such as Sunni and Shiite in Iraq. At the Asean Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus Seminar held on Nov 9, 2007 in Singapore, U Bo Hla Tint pointed out that armed conflicts between the ethnics groups were thing of the past . Thus Burma would be thrown into disarray should the Junta be suddenly replaced by a democratic government concept is not valid. Those who advocate this concept do not understand Burma political scenario.
At the Asean Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus Seminar, the rest of the group, except Deputy Speaker of Parliament Indranee Rajah, called for greater action from Asean, it was not enough for Asean only to put its full moral weight behind Mr Gambari's mission. I totally agree with Mr Charles Chong that as Asean has been using softer approach in persuasion for more than 10 years, it is really a time to take a fresh approach.