Najib: Causeway Link will look 'strange' if crooked bridge is revived

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 17): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Causeway Link will look 'strange' if the crooked bridge project between Malaysia and Singapore is revived. This is because the new crooked bridge will need to be connected to Singapore's stretch of the Causeway Link.

Speaking to reporters at the Malaysia's Parliament lobby here today, Najib said the Singapore government had indicated to him when he was prime minister that  Singapore did not intend to invest money to replace the Causeway Link, since the bridge was still usable. 

"The issue now is whether the crooked bridge can bring benefit to the people or not. We also have to consider the challenge on how do we connect with Singapore's part of the Causeway Link during construction, because Singapore does not intend to demolish the existing bridge. If only half of the bridge is new while the other half remains the old one, it will be a bit strange from many aspects," Najib said.

"When I was the prime minister, I had asked the Singapore prime minister (Lee Hsien Loong) about demolishing the Causeway Link and building a new bridge that is more suitable to the modern age, but he said he wants to maintain the Causeway Link for another 30 years. Singapore was not interested to come up with funds to do it, as they think the bridge is still usable, so we didn't reach an agreement," Najib said.

Today, Najib was commenting on news reports that the construction of the crooked bridge between Malaysia and Singapore, first mooted by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad 15 years ago, is being looked into again.

The Edge Financial Daily reported today that Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian said yesterday of Dr Mahathir having indicated at a meeting with Johor officials last month that he had “no problem” in reviving the project. — theedgemarkets.com

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