TodayOnline-Oct 18
The Republic has not received any official proposal from Malaysia to construct a crooked bridge between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Thursday, after Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian suggested reviving the project.
Neither has Singapore received any word from its neighbour on building any new link, the Ministry added, after a Malaysian deputy minister on Wednesday broached the subject of a third bridge between the two countries which was later supported by another minister.
Mr Osman had said on Tuesday (Oct 16) that the project would ease congestion at the Causeway and reduce pollution in the Tebrau Straits, adding that a proposal has being put up to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and that the issue will be discussed at an upcoming meeting between Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali and Singapore officials.
However, Mr Azmin stated on Wednesday that Mr Osman’s suggestion was merely his personal remark and that Putrajaya had not received any proposal on the project, which like any other mega projects, is not a “priority” for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
On the same day, Malaysian deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong suggested that building a third bridge between the two countries would be better than replacing the Causeway with a crooked bridge. “The main focus should be to ensure smooth flow of people and traffic on both sides, which is why DAP is prepared to support the idea of a third bridge,” said Mr Liew, who is also the Johor chief of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a PH component party. “So we think that the crooked bridge is not an immediate priority.”
His proposal of a third bridge was supported by Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar, who said in a statement on Thursday that it could run from Pasir Gudang in Johor to Pulau Punggol Barat in Singapore. “I learnt from them that the Johor Straits is narrowest at this point,” he said, adding that there was a need to address congestion at the Causeway and the Second Link.
“In my opinion, Malaysia and Singapore is in dire need of a third bridge, crooked or otherwise,” he said.
Following the comments by the various Malaysian politicians, an MFA spokesperson said on Thursday that Singapore has not received “any official proposal or communications from Malaysia related to the construction of a crooked bridge or any other new link between Singapore and Malaysia”.
The crooked bridge project was first mooted by Dr Mahathir in the 1990s to replace the Causeway during his first stint as prime minister.
On Thursday, he insisted that Putrajaya does not require Singapore’s consent to construct the crooked bridge. “This (proposal) came from Johor. They said they want to build the crooked bridge, but someone said it is not the crooked bridge but a third bridge,” he said.
He added: “If we build a third bridge, we will need Singapore’s consent… The crooked bridge doesn’t involve Singapore at all. So we can build it at any time.”
Dr Mahathir also told the press that since the suggestion came from Johor, the federal government will “look into it”.
In 2003, just before ending his 22-year tenure as premier, he had announced that Malaysia would go ahead and build its own half of the crooked bridge if Singapore refused to demolish its half of the Causeway.
The Malaysian half would be a six-lane S-shaped highway that would allow vessels to pass under it. But the project was later rejected by Mr Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after he became prime minister in 2003.
WATER ISSUE
On Tuesday, Mr Osman also said that the delegation led by Mr Azmin will review the price of water supplied to the Republic.
“We will discuss issues including water price, bilateral development and investments. We will try to attract investors from Singapore to Malaysia,” said the chief minister.
But the MFA spokesperson pointed out on Thursday that the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia, which will meet later this year, does not have the mandate to discuss issues related to the 1962 Water Agreement.
Under the 1962 Water Agreement, Singapore’s national water agency, PUB, may draw 250 million gallons of raw water from Sungei Johor daily at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons.
In return, Johor is entitled to receive a daily supply of up to five million gallons of treated water – or 2 per cent of the water supplied to Singapore – at 50 sen per 1,000 gallons.
Singapore has said the cost of treatment is RM2.40 (S$0.79) per 1,000 gallons, while Malaysia sells the treated water to Johor citizens at RM3.95 for the same amount.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had earlier stressed that the 1962 Water Agreement between the two neighbours is “sacrosanct” at this year’s National Day Rally in August. “We must proceed strictly in accordance with its terms,” he said.
Mr Lee also pointed out that Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan had also spelled out Singapore’s position in Parliament to “avoid any misunderstanding”.
Dr Balakrishnan had told Parliament that the 1962 agreement was guaranteed by both Singapore and Malaysia in the 1965 Separation Agreement, which was in turn registered with the United Nations. “Any breach of the agreement would call into question the Separation Agreement, which is the basis for Singapore’s very existence as an independent sovereign state,” said the minister, adding that “neither Malaysia nor Singapore can unilaterally change the terms of this agreement between our two countries”.
(https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/no-official-proposal-or-communications-msia-construct-crooked-bridge-mfa)
