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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Thursday 23 April 2009

Bridge over Troubled Water

Many people see a storm brewing over the horizon. It involves the issue surrounding the construction of a bridge over to Singapore. During Dr Mahathir's time he supported the construction of a scenic bridge over to Singapore.

Some say this is another harebrained idea by Dr Mahathir. A contractor was selected and some works on the bridge were in fact already carried out. When Abdullah Badawi took over as PM, the bridge project was cancelled.

The government paid the contractor concerned for the 'some works' completed. Samy Vellu paid millions and he justified the amount. Was it RM150 million?

Almost everyone who was a cabinet member under Abdullah then supported the cancellation. Most of them were the very same fellows who supported the idea of building the bridge during Dr Mahathir's time.

If the bridge was agreed upon and then cancelled and if it is now revived, then this could only mean:-

  1. The idea of building the bridge has sound reasons.
  2. But because the idea is personality dependent, it becomes an on, off and on again game.

The fundamental issue is, does building the bridge make sense for Malaysia? This line of questioning suggests we are motivated by self interest first. We make no apologies of that. Every nation is guided by its own self interest first. Malaysia it seems, is not given that latitude. When it comes to Malaysia, its interests are conditional and contingent.

The economic sense of building a bridge if they are strong ones, override the need to fit in the good neighbourliness arguments put forth by several writers in the international media. Their arguments sound so artificial and are only resurrected when it involves other countries. Thus I find it erroneous and condescension-laden the arguments submitted by writers in Asia Sentinel and Telegraph of UK.

To these people, the idea of building the bridge is inherently bad simply because it is associated with Dr Mahathir. Their writings seem so farcical because they seem to be pushing for a blanket acceptance that what Dr Mahathir did during his 22 years premiership was a nightmarish episode in Malaysian history.

I also find it farcical the deafening silence by supporters of Dr Mahathir on the internet, when parallels were drawn between Mahathir and Mugabe, or with Noriega and other tin pot despots. But when I wrote something mildly critical of Dr Mahathir on specific aspects, they descend like vultures scavenging on carcasses. Hence the comments coming from them have the foul smell of rotting flesh. Hello boys, now is the time to support TDM.

That a bridge is actually needed seems to be sidelined now. When it was agreed, the decision must have been supported by extensive technical and feasibility studies. Since building such bridge is very unlike building a Lego model, the technical arguments FOR must have overwhelmed the arguments AGAINST. Hence, we must assume such a bridge is doable.

It is the second leg of the issue which is getting a bigger attention.

The bridge issue is touted by certain people as Najib's Mahathir dilemma. It is to choose whether to revive or banish the idea of building the bridge once and for all. The dilemma is to decide between rejecting calls to revive the bridge project and with it marking his own territory or accepting its revival and with it the stigma of buckling under Dr Mahathir. Najib has to decide who the boss is.

Dato Najib should be mindful of the arguments on both sides but should not be herded into making his decision if only to satisfy either sides of the divide. Which of these arguments make economic sense? Not because to reject the idea will be seen as being THE MAN or to accept as being Dr Mahathir's stooge. The idea of the bridge must be elevated beyond whether its Mahathir or not Mahathir's labels.

The real issue that must be answered is: is the second bridge needed? If it is, the issue of whether Najib is capitulating to Mahathir does not arise. If the construction of the bridge has its own intrinsic merits, the fact that it was mooted by Dr Mahathir should not be an excuse to reject the idea. To do so, would be to capitulate and surrender to those who harangued the former premier. Dr Mahathir is not the issue here.

Why should building the bridge be seen as buckling under Dr Mahathir's feet and that the only way to assert the PM's I-am-my own-person persona, he must reject the idea of building the bridge?

Does it make economic sense is a more important question. Will it confer strategic advantage? Will it confer competitive advantage?

20 comments:

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 10:08  

AK,
Blow the bridge over troubled waters!A blantant waste of public funds.Stealing money once again from either Petronas or EPF to finace his harebrained projects.
The trouble this madhatter still thinks the country's coffer belongs to him!
Everything is still okay before and now on old causeway.Stimulating more cronies of his.
Sheesh!!!where is this country going.......

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 10:13  

To expect local politicians to resign on a matter of principle, like many do in UK for example, is too much. Especially when they have tasted the trappings of being a cabinet member. At least Sharir had the decency to resign when he lost support at the General Assembly. The many corrupt bas..... might even have lobbied to get into the new cabinet.

Would some one knowledgable write a pros and con on the bridge here? Facts and figures from the TDM era feasibility studies and whatever justification TAB and his boys used to stop the project. Statistics on the benefits like trade, tourism and so on. If no funds, how damaging is it to spend on credit? The US is doing it, no doubt on a major economic recession issue, but decided on trillions of dollars spending.

It would be beneficial for us to study the actual pros and cons after getting a general picture of its doability and so on. We can come out in support or in vocal protest after that.

PATRICK 23 April 2009 at 11:00  

the bridge should be good and justifiable as it will enable the newly acquired submarines to move freely through the johore staits.

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 11:06  

The bridge has become a necessity because of the CIQ...its a topsy turvy,cart before the horse rationale but unfortunately its the situation we are in now.

One of the initial rationale for the bridge is to have a free flowing Straits of Johor instead of one that is constrained by the clogged culverts underneath the causeway.Further,as the causeway enters JB right in the middle of town,the new crossing and the associated dispersal scheme is supposed to provide traffic orderliness and enhance the commercial activities in JB city centre.Anyone caught in the causeway jam would surely attest to that...

Was it the best solution?

Logically,there are other options..eg; a completely new crossing a few kilometres away (preferably on the Eastern shore) with the associated CIQs and a direct discharge to the major road arteries thereby bypassing the city PLUS maintaining the causeway as a light traffic,pedestrian friendly with an elevated centre span...and proper culverts/barrage system to ensure adequate water flow.
And there is also the CURRENT second crossing...which is still underutilised due mainly to inadequate road networks and HIGHER toll.

Presumably,the planners must have considered and done all the evaluations and decided on the "scenic" bridge option.Just a note >>it was initially proposed as a privatisation but ended up as a fully funded govt project..thus,that would indicate the bank-ability of the project.

Now..its waters under the bridge..with the CIQ and other onshore works already in place and at a GREAT cost to the taxpayers..the scenic bridge have to proceed.It should be lesson to all..you can't stop a surgery in mid stream.

But before we proceed its wise to have a full accounting of the cost incurred to date including the expenses/claims paid because of the project being aborted.And in the interest of transparency...the figures should be publicised..

The current rumor is that it cost as much if not more to abort the works rather then continuing.

Its a sad state of affairs that left only a few elites smiling.

concerned

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 11:06  

aku rasa keuntungan yang banyak akan dapat kepada pengendali pelabuhan tanjung pelepas (PTP) kerana dikatakan kapal yang inginkan laluan pendek akan menggunakan selat tebrau dan PTP sebagai tempat persinggahan kapal. Jadi singapura akan kehilangan pelanggan untuk jangka masa panjang....

soalannya, siapakah tuan punya PTP?

Syed mokhtar al bukhary, kroni kuat mahathir.

adakah ini kerana kedaulatan negara?

bukan...ini adalah untuk kedaulatan kroni.....

sudahlah mahathir...jangan tipu orang melayu lagi....cukup2 lah

jibam

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 11:20  

encik jibam...

I think the proposed scenic bridge is not designed to allow big ocean cargo ships to go thru..only the smaller and especially leisure boats.

thanks

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 11:40  

anon 10:13

Takkan semua nak bagi kau tengok pro dan cons. Kau sapa?

Dalam kerajaan dah ada la org2 dalam bidang tertentu utk analyse. Sikit2 bagi kau analyse, lama2 org kata pemimpin takda teloq. Ini la kebebasan bersuara. Kaki dah naik ke kepala.

Lain kali kalau bini kau beli langsir rumah, kau tanya la pendapat sekitar kejiranan sebelum kau beli ek? Tengok pro dan cons. bukan apa, sebab jiran sebelah pun nak make sure warna nya "masuk' dengan langsir depa...

Cuba kau fahamkan ayat aku di atas, dan sesuaikan dengan jalan cerita, jiran tu laksana singapore la deyy...

gelak aku nengok org2 yg terlampau pandai, kdg2 benda2 simple dia bodoh.

Ree,  23 April 2009 at 12:26  

Dato Sak,

Personally, I dont care about the Crooked Bridge. If I want to drive to Singapore I prefer to use the 2nd Link.

btw the 2nd Link is not so tall. Meaning only very small ships can pass the Teberau straits if the causeway is demolished.

walla 23 April 2009 at 12:27  

X: 'Don't you sense the reason why the Second Causeway was canceled was more than anything else in reaction to the other past mega-projects?'

Y: 'Let's not jump the gun. There could be other more compelling reasons.'

X: 'Yes, it was a murky period, wasn't it? Some said there was a shady sand deal as well ..and that raked up emotions on sovereignty which of course wasn't helped much by the rift between the titans of the two states. Especially when the water contracts and airspace overfly were also debated fiercely at that time. And, darn, some said they used the sand to make the lane mouth shallow so that vessels to Tg Pelepas were hampered. This is too much.'

Y: 'Now we need cool heads. Let me ask you three simple questions.'

X: 'Go ahead.'

Y: 'Can you spare a stick of kretik?'

X: 'What kind of question is that? Where you think you are, Martapura-ke? Ok, here's a gudang garam.'

Y: 'TK. (light, inhale, expel). Ok, I think one objection came from the other side. Those kiasu's were worried that if the lane be open to big ships and tankers, east-west marine traffic would bypass their port and stop at Tg Pelepas instead.'

X: 'Hah! And can they answer how those big vessels are going to go under the Second Crossing off Tanjung Kupang linking to their Tuas district? See, they even have a circular on its height restriction for under-passing vessels (http://is.gd/tZLh). Nincompoops.'

Y: 'Maybe they were worried that if the Second Causeway be built, the Second Crossing will be demolished later.'

X: 'Wah! You think we so clever one? Why don't we ask the old man now? Here, this was what he had said about the Second Crossing at that time..

http://is.gd/tZNd

See, all for regional cooperation. Look, Y, it's all about the concept of regional integration for mutual economic development. One aspect of that is that the supplier is also a buyer and the buyer can also be a supplier. It's win-win both ways. And the more regionally integrated, the more this type of synergy can generate economic activity which leads to prosperity. Without activity means stand still. You like to stand still all the time?

Now what were the two questions you wanted to ask?'

Y: 'Ok, one is simple. Can we afford the Second Causeway?'

X: 'Maybe, at that time we couldn't. I remember it wasn't just that project which was stopped. Also the double-track and others. The emotion was like the one after the KLCC-Bakun Dam announcements. A lot of people in and out of the country were kinda worried we had overstretched ourselves, although looking back now, it isn't too much to say that if the global economy had not turned turtle then, our MSC projects, for instance, would have generated enough dot-coms to list for the sort of accounting appreciation that you must have seen from the cisco's and 3com's. Imagine, share prices jumping from 20 usd to 8,000 usd. (tongue rolls out).

But no point wishing for falling stars. During the time the causeway project was canceled we were tight. The question is are we still tight or is the oil revenue from the last spike enough to (a) fund all the stimuli packages until say the end of next year, (b) pay for this Second Causeway, and (c) develop the connecting facilities to realize an even bigger vision for the project?

Y: 'You've been reading my mind-ah, X? That was what i thought. The costings must be precise; the benefits filtered to the last drop. The implementation must also be more efficient.'

X: 'What more efficient you talking about?'

Y: 'Look, if you analyze all our past mega-projects, the intentions could have been salutary in some regards, but the results you wouldn't salute. More like want to open fire and hentam left right and centre.'

X: 'Kekeke. (rubs chin). I know what you mean. See this CIQ complex in JB. It's supposed to take away the jams. Instead, it's creating even bigger jams. And also inconveniencing people who walk across the causeway. They never did a think-through from the situation of the users, either motorist or pedestrian. And it cost over a billion. Add the fuel burnt, the time wasted, the let-down which throw people away from wanting to come over. You name it, just another screw-up. Imagine, waiting three hours just to be processed. Mati-lah.'

Y: 'But people will say it's because of peak periods.'

X: 'My friend, that's exactly what it was supposed to solve. Peak periods.'

Y: 'Now, the second question is will it be a crooked bridge thing?'

X: 'Why you ask?'

Y: 'I know we are already laughing stock. If we have crooked bridge, we will be laughed and socked instead. Why? Because it will stand as a monument of will on one side and no wish on the other side. How then can you say it's based on regional cooperation? If want to do something, do it smoothly, efficiently and well.

Let me give you a simple physical argument for that. Say, the Second Causeway is up and it's crooked.

Ta'kan you going to keep the first causeway? It's got to go because (a) it's too narrow for present and future needs, (b)it blocks water flow which is causing siltation and other problems, and (c)it prevents economic activity on both sides of that lane when the water can flow across the whole stretch of the lane.

Now, if the first causeway goes, what happens to the water pipe and rail track?

So you move them to the Second Causeway. Now, if this new causeway is crooked, how you think they will be? Go straight through the malaysia crooked side while the malaysia crooked causeway winds around? It looks funny, doesn't it? Let me explain. Right now looking across, the water pipe and the rail are on the left side of the causeway road. If you have a crooked bridge for first half, they will have to go under the crooked part in order to go straight across. Otherwise they will have to wind with the road. Hahaha~! And if you say they can go across on the right side of the new causeway road, then the other party will have to shift their entire Jurong complex to the right so that it will receive a pipe-rail line coming over. Otherwise the entire Second Causeway will be senggek to the left. Betul-tak?

X: 'But will there be other problems even if it's a straight Second Causeway?'

Y: 'There could be. How high will it be in the middle on the water? If too high, the train and pipe will have to go up with it and then down. And if both go through lower on another parallel platform, the height of that platform will determine the height of the lane passing vessels, no?

The second thing to that is if it is high, the start and end of the new causeway will have to be further inland. Otherwise those vegetable lorries will combust and stall and then everything gets chocked up. So, maybe, end up in Batu Pahat and Kallang respectively, kekeke.'

X: 'Y, be serious. This is important.'

Y: 'Ok-lah. On our side, it has to be further inland, but i hope not too inland for me to stop for that delicious rojak with sotong.'

X: 'You're expired goods, Y. That stall closed long ago.'

Y: 'Betul-kah? I still remember it came with some of those taufu bakar. Sigh. Seems like only yesterday, isn't it? Jumping into the water to swim under the boat hull....sigh, those were the days.'

X: 'Mana ada boats at Lido Beach?'

Y: 'No, not the beach. Look at map from sky, right side of causeway. That area should be further developed. Villages at the water edge only. In fact the entire water front of the lane should be developed. And i mean both sides.

Just imagine the klong water market of Bangkok or some marina with yachts. You may even want to shift the monsoon cup over there..haha.

Look, X. If we take a satmap of the country at night, you will see lights in Klang Valley, some in Penang area, but other places only twinkle twinkle little stars. How can like that?! The whole country should be lit up like a christmas tree. Then you know it is better utilized and people not just in urban areas but other areas will also be enjoying some economic activity. Betul-tak?

I have a vision. And i think the architect of this second causeway will himself takut sikit if he knows of it. He may even ask himself, "what have i got myself into?" (jejeje).

X: 'You got vision? Hahaha. Mana ada vision, one? More like illusions.'

Y: 'Hey, don't simply sapo. My vision is like this. I stub my kretik in Martapura. Don't ask me what i am doing there, ok? After that, i jump on the land cruiser and drive along the bumpy highway for hours, reaching Banjarmasin at the tip of Kalimantan. I head for a warung, eat some roast chicken in sos merah. Drink the coffee, chitchat with the girls, jump into a barge and sail left or right. Left, i go up to Miri. Right, i swing round and head to Batam. There i spend a night. No pesky questions, please. In the morning, i wake up, and brush my teeth. After that, i jump on hydrofoil and reach that dot. I walk to that section of it which says welcome to Malaysia (kekeke) and jump into the train. As it passes a beautiful Second Causeway, i look out the window. I see colorful sails of yachts. It looks like Sydney harbor. I also see motorboats carrying tourists under colorful canopies. I see people on sampans selling goods to tourists on sampans. I see white and resplendent marinas with modern high rises and palm trees (urgghh). I see resorts in the distance, maybe some waterfront restaurants (five-star like El-Bull). Lido Beach by then would have been cleaned up. Maybe there will be new waterfront industrial complexes reaching all the way up to the Pahang side or to the Johor side facing Sumatra - anything related to marine industries like yacht building, belacan paste making, seafood packaging, etc can do. Thousands of jobs. Making and servicing. Both. And on the dot's side, likewise-lah. They can sell their singapore fried beehoon, we can sell our malaysian fried beehoon. Hah!'

X: 'Wallah! how interesting. And there will be...'

Y: 'Quiet, i am not yet finished. The train is not the old locomotive like we have now. It will be highspeed, ultrafast, superfast and maglevitated. And it will go from our station (jejeje) in Singapore right across the new causeway, stop at JB and split into two tracks. One goes up on west coast, and another new one along east coast. Of course, the east coast one will only be built in 2060 and it will stop in KB and swing westwards to join the west coast one which has reached the northern capital.

Which continues right through southern Thailand, bringing economic activity and stability to the people there, up to Bangkok, east through Laos and Cambodia into Vietnam and then go up to Hanoi from which it can cross the border and continue into Nanning or take the new ADB-funded rail and head west to Kunming from which one can alight and take a tour. Maybe one of those new Silk routes and head for some city in East Europe where i will light another kretik.'

X: 'You're mad. No, insane. Better still, deluded. Who going to fund all this?'

Y: 'I don't know. That's why it's called a vision. Maybe some vencaps can. Certainly no one expects our govt to do so. That will be too risky under present conditions.'

X: 'I think you better go hide yourself in Martapura. You're a menace to the MOF and possibly the entire Malaysian population.'

Y: 'sigh, so unappreciated one. Look, X, if we all look in the same direction, there will be no difference.'

X: 'Humm, who said that?'

Y: 'A young, beautiful, intelligent, vivacious and perceptive woman whom i will never meet.'

X: 'Maybe Martapura's not the right place. Try Phi Phi island.'

;P

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 13:04  

walla, u should be called walla-u-ayy. a good story teller..

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 13:26  

Anon 11:40

Apa jenis maanusia engkau ini? Mengetawakan dan mengatakan orang bodoh dengan tidak pasal2?

Aku dah baca komen aku sekali lagi. Tak ada mengkeji sesiapa, tak ada mengata orang pun. Ha nya membuat cadangan, meminta, secara ikhlas dan baik, supaya yang "knowledgeable" tulis pros & con.

Aku nak tahu tahap pelajaran engkau, siapa emak bapak engkau, pernah kah engaku di didik supaya berkelakuan betul. Kalau tak sopan santun pun, tidak lah membodohkan orang dengan tidak pasal. Tapi engkau tak payah jawab, orang boleh nampak dari tulisan engkau. Aku pun bila baca 1-2 ayat penulisan macam ini salepas ini, aku akan scroll over. Aku tak mahu berhubung dengan orang saperti engkau salepas aku coba ajar engkau sikit pasal adab.

Aku tak mahu maki engkau, kata engkau bodoh atau sebagai nya. Tapi aku berdo'a kapada Tuhan supaya kurangkan Melayu saperti engaku ini di dunia. Melayu ada banyak masalah sekarang. Lebihkan lah Melayu yang membuat komen yang membina atau constructive. Kalau tidak pun, Melayu yang tidak mengeluarkan komen yang menyakitkan hati orang lain dengan tidak memasal, tidak ada alasan.

Memang alam siber bebas. Sebab itu lah jenis engkau ini keluar. Mengotorkan blog orang sahaja. Memesongkan pemikiran pembaca dari perkara yang di bincang pemunya blog. Aku masih belom memaki engkau. Sebab emak bapak aku ajar aku supaya berhati hati sabelom mengeluarkan kata kata yang tidak manis.

Kalau engkau maksud kan pros & con kajian Kerajaan, aku tak ada cakap hendakkan itu. Kalau pun begitu, engkau tak paham Dato Seri Najib sudah cakap era "Government knows best" sudah tamat? Apa salah minta Kerajaan "transparent" sekarang. Bukan minta bocorkan rahsia. Apa orang awam tak boleh dapat data perdagangan, pelancongan dll dari Jabatan Statistik?

Coba engkau tengok komen orang saperti "Concerned" itu. Aku tahu engkau tak boleh buat komen saperti dia. Aku tahu engkau tak boleh sampai ke tahap dia. Aku tahu ini semua tak boleh masuk dalam otak engkau yang sabesar otak semut. Ingat, aku masih belom maki engkau, mengata engkau bodoh dsb nya. Aku ha nya hendakkan pembaca lain tahu jenis engkau ini. Bukan untuk ketawakan engkau tapi kesihankan engkau dan berdo'a supaya Tuhan kurangkan jenis engkau dalam dunia ini.

Ma'af Sak, panjang sikit, nak ajar benda Allah ni sikit.

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 13:30  

wats so strategic about singapore?they need us more than we need them..its only cos we squandered our opportunities that they prospered as a service/trading centre..

better to invest in building up facilities to tap the indon trade up north and thru sabah/sarawak la

in 15 years..singapore will be just the dot that it really is..yet,our policymakers wants us to be the shenzen instead of the hong kong.Small minds breeds innocuous theories..

concerned

Donplaypuks® 23 April 2009 at 15:30  

Well, here's a comment from Ancient Mariner at http://cyusof.blogspot.com/2009/04/stupid-bridge.html#comments

who should know a thing or two about oceans, seas, straits and bridges:

"Oh no, not again, I thought. Whoever thought of this crooked bridge clearly has got their crooked brains in their crooked backsides.

If it was meant as a panacea for all traffic ills then they have got another thought coming because it certainly will not solve the problem of choke holds on both sides (ends) of the bridge.

If it was meant to allow a safe passage for ships, its really a no-brainer because the Johor Strait is too shallow for ships and besides, the swing bridge (on left of photo) is only meant for small craft. This will be very expensive to maintain just so that a few millionaires can sail their luxury yachts through at our expense.

If it was due to environmental concerns to allow water on both sides."

The 2nd link at Tuas also places a 25m restriction on ships trying to pass through. So, whither a Crooked Bridge?

As to your:

"When it was agreed, the decision must have been supported by extensive technical and feasibility studies. Since building such bridge is very unlike building a Lego model, the technical arguments FOR must have overwhelmed the arguments AGAINST. Hence, we must assume such a bridge is doable."

I am not so sure. Were wave, tidal and enviro feasibility studies done? Let them make public all these studies so we can see how the minds behind this aborted (at $ nearly $1 billion in compensation) worked! My perecption of events is that very little was done other than a few fancy architectural drawings and left to 'Belakang Kira, woi' school of business and ethics!

http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 16:56  

ayoyo, walla thamby

Singapore jealous, bila ada org melayu sebelah sini pandai dan tau berkira pasal benda2 yg nguntungkan malaysia. Dia kalau boleh nak kaut untung diri sendiri. Dia nak "win" aja. Org lain biar tersungkur.

Dia pun rekala macam2 pro dan cons supaya tak jadi. Nak2 melayu2 yg tak suka TDM. Cakap la org tua tu itu dan ini.


Padahal hal2 tak adil pada malaysia pasal harga air yg tak munasabah dia buat kering ajek..

Aku pun suka kalau ada org malaysia la ni, buat kering aja dan bina jambatan.

Lagipun dulu menteri singapore dah pernah setuju. Janji mesti ditepati. Ini adalah hak dalam perbincangan dan perniagaan.

Anonymous,  23 April 2009 at 17:05  

relex la bro main mak bapak pulak ni. macam budak kecik la bro. sikit sebut mak bapak.

kalau ikut hadis nabi, biarkan org tu maki, especially kalau dia maki mak pak kita. Sebab sebenarnya dia sedang memaki mak pak dia sendiri.

Peter,  23 April 2009 at 21:51  

A very good write up Sak.

As you said, it is more like personality based project rather than country based.

This is how these UNMOs have been running the country...started by TDM. He thinks the entire country belongs to him and his family when he was in power and want to continue? Does he know that it is another person's family's turn?

Btw...building the bridge would make his Tanjung Pelepas Port more profitable with more ships not that the rest of the country needs it. But the rest of the country has to pay the price of building the bridge and ill wills with a neighbour at at time we cannot afford to quarrel.

yet... guys admire this guy to the sky. LOL

TDM is a disaster for this country if one is to carefully map out all he had done to the country... to the state we are now... bodohland.

kuldeep 23 April 2009 at 23:52  

Was it a good decision to build the North South Highway?Was it a good decision to privatise it ?Was it a good decision to construct the privatisation agreement in such a manner (eg: toll increase clause..)?

Hindsight is 2020.

Now with the CIQ in place..the scenic bridge must continue.

Its not good if one does a nose job but hv rotting teeth..won't get u that damsel.

Anonymous,  24 April 2009 at 00:30  

A little reminder on decision making...during TDM's time MMC Gamuda was awarded the jb to pdg besar double tracking job for 14 billion.Mr Badawi scrapped it when he came into power...but last year awarded MMC Gamuda a 12.5 billion contract for ipoh -pdg besar and 3.5 billion to ircon for seremban - gemas...note that the 2 contracts is already worth 16 billion AND still need to do gemas to jb which shld be abt 6 to 7 billion.You do the maths...and pls gv TDM the credit n respect a true visionary deserve.

Bridge to Far,  24 April 2009 at 03:02  

Hello Dato'

1. We simply cant afford the bridge. Might as well spend on schools and universities or retraining teachers and expanding IPTA'S facilities

2. The bridge is just TDM's ego, so no point stroking it anyway, because after this it will be somethingelse

3. Crooked brdge is to be given to Syed Mokhtar and Johor Royals, so no point there la.

4. Do the Singaporeans even want it?

kuldeep 25 April 2009 at 13:13  

Bridge to far...

Syed Mokhtar and the Johor royals are not involved in the project..pls check your facts and info source.

Its not about S'pore..its about how congested JB is.JB needs a new CIQ,needs a proper demarcation of local and causeway traffic..so,pls..u shld be more concerned on wat Malaysia need.

thanks

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