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

However if we put the two events together, things may not be that simple or straightforward after all.

As reported, our defence minister was not informed beforehand of the Chinese ambassador’s intended donations to Chinese schools during his visit to Sembrong constituency in Johor.

Do we find this odd? Surely this is not a gift from one friend to another on a 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 great unease in the South China Sea where China is a major player.

Is the Chinese gunboat incident off the coast of Sarawak a mere coincidence with the visit and gift of the country’s ambassador to our defence minister’s parliamentary constituency?

China is a superpower today, economically and militarily.

I think everyone would agree that Malaysia must deal with these developments thoughtfully and respectfully. However this is different from being subservient and docile. I believe the donations should have been handed to our minister of defence as the MP of the constituency, letting him decide how the “gift” should be distributed among the Chinese schools there. This is definitely better than extending the donations directly by the embassy to the schools without the knowledge of the minister/member of parliament concerned.

I figure that in issues of 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. My sincere wish is that the donation by the Chinese embassy here is nothing more than a friendly gesture but somehow my gut tells me there is probably more than meets the eye.

Similarly, the minister of defence asking the Sarawak chief minister to deal with the Chinese gunboats is strange. All of us know that national defence and foreign relations fall under federal jurisdiction.

I wonder where Wisma Putra stands on issues such as these. Maybe they prefer to do things on the quiet. I feel however that Malaysia should be more assertive on matters of our dignity and sovereignty. Behaving otherwise would suggest we are weak and helpless.

TK Chua is an FMT reader

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