There must be respect in giving and dignity in receiving – TK Chua

I wish things are that simple – the Chinese ambassador’s donations to Chinese schools in Malaysia are just friendly gestures and Chinese gunboats sighted 70 nautical miles off Sarawak’s coast are just “visits” with no incursion or hostility intended.

But if we put the two events together, things may not be that simple or straight forward.

As reported, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was not informed beforehand of the Chinese ambassador’s intended donations to Chinese schools during his visit to Sembrong in Johore.

Do we find this odd? Surely this is not a gift from a friend to another at the personal level. Can a sovereign government extend a gift to another sovereign government knowing there may be sensitivities or other implications involved?

More so now, when there is constant unease in the South China Sea where China is a major player.

Was the Chinese gunboat incident off the coast of Sarawak a coincidence with the visit and gift of its ambassador to our Hishammuddin’s parliamentary constituency?

China is a superpower today, economically and militarily. I think everyone would agree that Malaysia must deal with it thoughtfully and respectfully. But this is different from being subservient and docile.

I would prefer that donations are handed over to our honourable minister as the MP of the constituency, letting him decide how the donations should be distributed among the Chinese schools there. This is definitely better than extending such donations directly to the schools without the knowledge of the minister/MP concerned.

I thought in diplomacy and foreign relations, nuances and signals are important. There must be respect in giving and dignity in receiving.

Chinese Malaysians, Chinese schools, and Chinese language and culture notwithstanding, Malaysia is a separate and sovereign state that must stand equal among nations.

I really wish that the donation had nothing more to it than just being a friendly gesture, but somehow I have a feeling that there is probably more than meets eyes.

Similarly, asking Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem to deal with the Chinese gunboats is strange. But for the defence minister to say so is even more bizarre. Everyone knows that national defence and foreign relations are under federal jurisdiction.

I wonder where the roles of Wisma Putra are on these two issues. Maybe they prefer to do things on the quiet.

But I still feel that Malaysia should be more assertive of our dignity and sovereignty. Behaving otherwise would suggest we are weak and helpless. – February 19, 2016.

* TK Chua reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.