I’m Tired Of It, Too!
Dr M’s plan was to build a curved bridge called Scenic Bridge. A curved bridge under the curved moon, how poetic and beautiful it would be! However, without the approval from Singapore, it would only be half of a bridge.
By LIM MUN FAH/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily
Why is the Sultan of Johor Sultan Iskandar Ismail opposing the proposed third bridge linking Malaysia and Singapore? He does not give any reason and it leads to all kinds of speculations.
Some said that the Sultan is unhappy to lose the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Puteh (which Singaporeans call Pedra Branca) and therefore, he takes the opportunity this time to fight back. And some said that Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has recently paid a visit to six states of Malaysia but he did not go to Johor. How could the Sultan tolerate this?
Meanwhile, some said that the Sultan sympathises his people and he does not want to see his people suffer, especially during the economic downturn, as the third bridge project is so costly. Also, some said that the old Sultan has been touched by the firm stand of UMNO’s right wing in which they would rather “burn the bridge down” than selling sand.
| "It is against the will of Singaporeans and Malaysians." |
These are the reasons spreading around. Some are ridiculous while some seem to be true. There is another view that seems to be more authentic and it is believed by many state assemblymen. They said that the old Sultan believes that it would be better to replace the existing bridge linking Malaysia and Singapore with a new bridge, instead of building a third bridge.
It is also said that: The Sultan does not like the existing bridge as it is built during the colonial era. Thus, he wishes to demolish the British colony symbol.
Assuming that this is true and the federal government agrees with the Sultan, then it means we have to restart the plan of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad?
Dr M’s plan was to build a curved bridge called Scenic Bridge. A curved bridge under the curved moon, how poetic and beautiful it would be! However, without the approval from Singapore, it would only be half of a bridge.
The curved half-bridge carries neither love nor friendship, but confrontation and hatred instead. It is against the will of Singaporeans and Malaysians.
The Scenic Bridge project was then being terminated under the order of another former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Although the curved bridge project was terminated, the winding road to the new Customs and quarantine building still trigged the people’s anger.
Perhaps, the old Sultan has heard about it. Moreover, he does not like the existing bridge. Thus, he hopes to restart the project of building a new bridge to replace the existing one, instead of going all the way to build the third bridge in Pengerang.
However, there is an old question here: If the federal government agrees with the proposal, would they start again Dr M’s curved bridge or build a brand new bridge?
Of course, the most critical question remains: How about Singapore’s stand? Does it agree or adhere to its previous stand to reject the proposal?
They said they want to build a curved bridge and later, the project was terminated. They said they want to build a third bridge and now, it was opposed by the Sultan. To be frankly, I’m tired of the repeating process, too!
