Dr M: Give Singapore sand, we’ll get the third bridge
Written by Tony C H Goh, The Edge
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today that the building of the third bridge connecting Malaysia and Singapore was a possibility if Malaysia met the republic's demand for sand.
"If we give Singapore sand, then we can get the bridge," Dr Mahathir said after the launch of Sapura Crest Petroleum Bhd's new state-of-the-art Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) at the Oil and Gas Asia 2009 Exhibition here.
He was asked to comment on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's affirmation earlier that Singapore had agreed to the construction of a third bridge.
"The concept of a third bridge on the eastern side of Johor is something which we will pursue, and Singapore is quite keen," said Najib.
"With the third bridge, we can develop the whole of eastern Johor up to Mersing and onwards to Desaru," he said in his opening address at the 2010 Budget consultation meeting at the Finance Ministry in Putrajaya.
This could put to rest any hope of reviving the "crooked bridge" to replace the Malaysian side of the Johor Causeway, a project initiated by Dr Mahathir in 2003.
Singapore had insisted that any negotiation on the replacement of the aging Causeway should be part of the package to resolve other outstanding issues between the two countries, namely Singapore's right to use Malaysian airspace and the sale of raw water and sand to the republic.
The government paid RM257.4 million in compensation to Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd, the main contractor for the Malaysian side of the crooked bridge, after Dr Mahathir's successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi scrapped the project in April 2006.
The compensation was in addition to the RM170 million that had been paid to Gerbang for preliminary works done before the project was called off.
On the visit by Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who is on an eight-day tour of the country, Dr Mahathir said it was not his concern and that no arrangement had been made for the two of them to meet. "There is no reason for him to meet me, as I'm a nobody," he said.
Dr Mahathir also played down the fact the Singapore elder statesman had been meeting Malaysian politicians from both sides of the divide, including Umno vice-presidents Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal as well as opposition leaders Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Lim Guan Eng.
"It is his right to meet whoever he wants; I'm also sure that Malaysian politicians are keen to meet Singapore's People's Action Party (PAP) and its opposition," he said.
Commenting on Lee dispensing advice to local politicians, Dr Mahathir said Lee had loads of experience that Malaysian politicians, not knowing much, could learn from.
