To press queries, Press Secretary to PM, Mr Ong Keng Yong, replied:
The unnamed country was Singapore and the unnamed leader was PM Goh. However, the story was not quite like that.
I checked my notes and the transcript of PM Goh's door-stop interview with the press immediately after his meeting with Dr Mahathir in Hanoi in December 1998.
The funds that Malaysia wanted were part of a larger negotiation for the water which Singapore had asked for.
Interest rate was never an issue. The funds for Malaysia were offered on favourable terms.
At the meeting in Hanoi, PM Goh was more disappointed than shocked. He was not shocked because he had been alerted earlier that Malaysia would not need the loans anymore. In fact, he expressed his relief that Malaysia was able to get enough funds on its own and did not need Singapore's help. Nevertheless, he was disappointed as negotiations to resolve bilateral issues had to start all over again.
22 JULY 2001