SINGAPORE — Singaporeans would question what message Indonesia is trying to send by naming its warship after two Indonesian marines who set off a bomb in the Republic in the 1960s, said the Press Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Responding to media queries on Indonesia’s move, Mr Yap Neng Jye said that Mr Teo and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen have today (Feb 6) separately spoken to their Indonesian counterparts — Coordinating Minister for Legal, Political and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto and Minister of Defence Purnomo Yusgiantoro.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister K Shanmugam had spoken to Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa to register Singapore’s concerns over Indonesia’s move and “the impact this would have on the feelings of Singaporeans, especially the families of the victims”, a press statement by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said.

Mr Teo and Dr Ng conveyed the Republic’s perspective that the bombing at Orchard Road in 1965 was “a wrong and grievous attack on civilians in Singapore resulting in deaths and injuries”, Mr Yap said.

“The matter had been closed in May 1973 when then-PM Lee Kuan Yew sprinkled flowers on the graves of the two marines. After this, both countries have put the issue behind us and moved on to build the close ties we now enjoy,” he added.

However, the naming of the frigate the KRI Usman Harun would “re-open old wounds, not just among the victims and their families, but also for the Singapore public”. “Singaporeans would ask what message Indonesia is trying to send by naming its warship in this manner,” Mr Yap said.

“DPM Teo and Dr Ng, on behalf of the Singapore Government, respectfully asked that Indonesia takes into account the feelings of the victims and their families, and the implications and consequences, when making their decision whether to name the warship after the two marines.”

The Indonesian marines, Usman Hj Mohd Ali and Harun Said, were convicted and executed in Singapore for the bombing of MacDonald House on March 10, 1965. They were members of the special force that infiltrated Singapore during the Indonesian Confrontation against Malaysia between 1963 and 1966.