Singapore did not want the crooked bridge: Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak has revealed that Singapore was not keen on building the crooked bridge that would connect Johor and Singapore during his tenure as the country's premier.
He said that to build the crooked bridge, Singapore would have to demolish some parts of their Causeway.
"The challenge now is how to connect this bridge to Singapore, during my time as Prime Minister I asked the Singaporean Prime Minister whether they are interested, he said that they want to keep the Causeway for at least 30 years," he said when speaking to the media at Parliament today.
"I tried to get the Singaporean Prime Minister to agree to the bridge, befitting if the new era but they did not want to do it," he added.
He said that it will be strange if half the bridge on the Malaysian side is new and the other half on the Singaporean side is old.
He also advised the government to ascertain whether the bridge will bring benefit to the people.
Meanwhile, Economic Affairs minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said the crooked bridge is not a priority at the moment as the priority should be projects that help the rakyat.
"Projects such as schools, hospitals and new roads are priority because they will directly benefit the rakyat," he said.
He said if the state government raise this proposal to the federal government, his ministry will consider the feasibility of doing it now or in the future when Malaysia is fiscally stronger.
"Our fiscal standing isn't to good so we have to prioritise infrastructure projects," he said.
Echoing Azmin's sentiments was DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong who said the party is supportive of a separate third bridge to Singapore but feels that the crooked bridge which was mooted by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his first tenure as prime minister is not an immediate priority.
Liew, who is deputy defence minister said the government should focus on ensuring smooth traffic flow between both countries.
He also said that construction of the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System linking Singapore rail facilities to Johor and walkways that would speed up travel should be a priority.
"The crooked bridge is not an immediate agenda," he said when asked to comment on reports that Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian had proposed the revival of the idea.
"This is why DAP is prepared to support the idea of a third bridge. But we think that the crooked bridge is not an immediate priority," he said.
The crooked bridge was the brainchild of Mahathir towards the end of his first tenure as premier.
He claimed that Malaysia would build a crooked 'S' shaped highway/bridge which would curve to allow ships to pass beneath it on the Tebrau straits if Singapore did not wish to demolish their causeway.
Mahathir's successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi scrapped the plan along with Najib who took over from him.