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Jeff,

The answer is simple. One upmanship. AAB thought he could get S'pore to agree to build a straight bridge something that Dr. M failed to do.

Jeff

Need we say more about these people that ruining this country. Not just present gov, same to the previous. All these brainless people do not think before they say or do anything. Wait till something happen or the rakyat voice out, then only they realized. The only difference is the previous administration was egoistic, they never admit they are wrong and they will bulldozed it over. The current, however, is weak and incompetent. Either ways, they are not finding solutions when they are facing a problem. All back to lack of planning, strategizing. We voted the bunch of politician that talk faster than they think. I wonder how many of the minister actually do some homework before they open thier mouths.

Joejak,

I think the usage of we in "we voted the bunch of politician that talk faster than they think" is wrong... I know for sure I didn't!

Make sure you cast the right vote next time around =)

I want the bridge to be built! theSun should conduct an SMS poll to see how many malaysian say YES and NO to the construction of the bridge.

since the government is spending more on MAS, it would seem prudent to scrap the bridge, which not only constitutes the price of building it, but a 60 year contract for our airspace and our sand.

let's take the newly funded MAS planes....

/// A legalistic approach was taken by Singapore ///

What approach should international agreements and contracts be taken? A handshake. A wink and a nod? Without open tenders?

So...somebody gave the wrong advice to Pak Lah and he gave the go-ahead to build the bridge. Then when all (or not) the details have been worked out and the commitments made, somebody(else) pull the rug from under the plan and came up with the threats of legalities and wrongly advised (again) Pak Lah to put a stop to it. So, some people now get paid for not having to work and the rest of the country feels the pain in the (you know where...) This is what it looks like, at least to me. No Da Vinci code this. Rather, it's looks so silly, one can just laugh and cry at the same time.

You can't really blame AAB for deciding on this issue because it IS a complicated issue. However, the quick about-turn and failure to discuss with his predecessor (who did most of the negotiation) does not put him in good light at all.

Now, AAB really is made to look like a fool and a weakling, even so much so that the Opposition (!) has come to his rescue ("ada udang di sebalik batu?")

Calling it "a waste of nation building resources" won't help him now as Dr M has managed to rally the rakyat behind him with his mountain of facts (think Proton/Agusta debacle). Political suicide has never been so obvious.

Ooops... hedonism, sorry, i shouldnt speak for everybody here.

Semi Value now says that the overhead road access to the CIQ complex was awarded to Gerbang Perdana without any tender because of "cost-effectiveness". Of course Pak Lah kept mum, even though he is the so-called champion of transparency and accountability. Heck, the rakyat is being taken for a ride on this one....cakap tak serupa bikin.

maybe somebody was trying to make AAB look stupid by wrongly advising him.

Actually, we cannot blame PM Abdullah Badawi totally on this issue as he has just taken over the PMship in Oct 2003. The signing of the contract between the Government and Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd to build bridge and rail links on the Gerbang Selatan Bersepadu project in Johor was witnessed by Mahathir in Aug 2003. The project, which costs RM1.1bil and will consist of a new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ), a bridge and a railway station, is now 15% complete.

His mistake is he do not take priority to review the contract when Malaysia begin negotiation with Singapore on the full bridge in Jan 2004 and terminate the contract ASAP while waiting for the outcome of the negotiation.

Also, I do not understand that why PM said Malaysia was going ahead with "crooked bridge" on 31 Jan 2006 and only to call it off on 13 Apr 2006. He should have explained the reasons of his "U" turn decision to the rakyat.

JEFF OOI says: Abdullah has, on April 13, 2006, made the decision to cancel the bridge project and stop all negotiations with Singapore over the Causeway. That's a good decision.

Abdullah had, on 19 January, 2006, ordered a "full-steam" go ahead to revive the crooked bridge project, and renamed it "Scenic Bridge', only to incur additional compensation to Gerbang Perdana -- that runs into 30digit of Malaysian ringgit -- when he abruptly cancelled it on April 13. It's a big sin to waste the rakyat's money unproductively in such reckles manner..

Abdullah had the luxury of several options in his hands. ( 1 ) Continue to indefinitely suspend Mahathir's crooked bridge that had remained suspended since 2003, while the new CIQ complex could go on. ( 2 ) Exercise the Government's exit clause to rescind the RM1.1b total package awarded to Gerbang Perdana, and replaced it with other projects of the same value, if fairplay should see the day.

Abdullah's decision making process is in question and he needs to explain why it had to happen the way it happened.

Let history adjudge Abdullah and Mahathir who is right and who is wrong. But good, competent governance should prevail at all times to propel this country forward. Mahathir is a gone era. Abdullah is our hope for the oresent. We should correct him when he made incompetent judgment call. Or else, its us the rakyat who suffer, qualitatively and quantitatively.

However, I agreed that his decision to terminate the bridge contract came too late. Nevertheless, he has the courage to reverse the "reckless" decision made by Mahathir in 2003 to go ahead with the "crooked" bridge unilaterally without Singapore's agreement.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/13/nation/13948245&sec=nation

Chronology of events of bridge project

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http://www.mca.org.my/story.asp?file=/articles/news/2003/8/4/17183.html&sec=In+The+News

Monday, 4 August 2003

Malaysia goes ahead with bridge project to replace Causeway

Malaysia will not seek Singapore’s involvement in the construction of a bridge between Johor and the republic to replace the existing Causeway. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia had to build a “crooked” bridge because response from the republic was not encouraging. “If we have to wait for them to agree to this project, we won’t be able to build this bridge at all. “We will not seek the involvement of the republic in this project because such an attempt will only delay it. We don’t want to involve Singapore in this,” he said when asked whether it was still open for Singapore to participate in the project.

Dr Mahathir was talking to reporters after witnessing the signing of the contract between the Government and Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd to build bridge and rail links on the Gerbang Selatan Bersepadu project in Johor. The project, which costs RM1.1bil and will consist of a new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ), a bridge and a railway station, is now 15% complete. The contract was signed by Public Works Department Director-General Tan Sri Zaini Omar and his deputy Datuk Ng Chong Yuen on behalf of the Government, and Gerbang Perdana chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail and managing director Datuk Yahya A. Jalil.

Dr Mahathir said Malaysia’s initial plan was to build a straight bridge but the republic’s response had been one of nostalgia for the existing Causeway. “We saw that this matter was becoming akin to our water dispute. So, we have to design a rather strange-looking bridge because otherwise, we cannot get the right height or inclination. If it’s too steep, the lorries won’t be able to pass through,” he said. The idea to replace the Causeway with a bridge was mooted by the Prime Minister in July 1996. The bridge aims to ease traffic congestion in Johor Baru, improve water quality and reduce pollution in the Straits of Johor.

However, earlier this year, Dr Mahathir said he had been informed by Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew that Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was not in favour of a new bridge to replace the Causeway “because he has a sense of nostalgia over the Causeway,” and that “ we can construct a bridge after Goh’s retirement.” Dr Mahathir said the bridge, which was to be at least 25m high, would also allow better water flow and enable the passage of vessels underneath its span.

“This will facilitate the transportation of cargo from Pasir Gudang to the Tanjung Pelepas port. It will also be better environmentally as the water can now flow. “At present, it’s all closed up underneath the Causeway, except for two tiny culverts,” he said. Dr Mahathir expressed his hope that the bridge would be completed in time by Dec 31, 2005 and the contractor “does a good job.” “This is because lately, we’re not happy with contractors as they sell their contract to others who do a shoddy job, and spend money on other things,’’ he said. The Johor government has identified between 280ha and 320ha of land in Tanjung Puteri which will be reclaimed for the project, including the bridge measuring some 1.5km long.

Gerbang Perdana was incorporated on Sept 26, 1998, and has an authorised share capital of RM50mil. It is owned by a consortium of three shareholders – Merong Mahawangsa Sdn Bhd (60%), DRB-Hicom Berhad (20%), and Detik Nagasari Sdn Bhd (20%). -STAR-

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