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Work on RM1.1 billion “crooked” half-bridge to replace Johore causeway should not proceed without national mandate and specific parliamentary approval as it is building a permanent memorial to symbolize the double  failures of Malaysia-Singapore relations and ASEAN Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Penang,  Friday): Work on the RM1.1 billion “crooked” half-bridge to replace the Johore causeway should not proceed without a national mandate and specific parliamentary approval as it is building a permanent memorial to symbolize the double  failures of Malaysia-Singapore relations and the 36-year ASEAN.  The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is stepping down from the highest office of the land in eleven weeks’ time  come October  after serving as the longest Prime Minister for more than 22 years and he should take  pause to consider whether he wants the “crooked” half-bridge to be one of his last legacies not only to the nation but to the region and the world  to symbolize  human follies where human ingenuity and engineering feats are used to immortalize human failures to foster closer regional and international relationships.  Even if the temptation  is to proceed with the RM1.1 billion “crooked” half-bridge, Mahathir will be well-advised to leave it to the next Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make the final decision, for two special reasons: Firstly, there is no immediate urgency to start work on the “crooked” half-bridge as  the RM2 billion  Johore-Singapore Second Link  is so grossly under-utilised that it  has  become a “white elephant” with an average daily traffic volume as low as 10 per cent of its capacity of 200,000 vehicles a day.  As a result, the government has to compensate the Second Link concessionaire some RM100 million since its opening  more than five years ago for the shortfall in guaranteed traffic volume and toll revenue. Secondly, there should be the fullest national consultation and mandate, including a parliamentary approval, before Malaysia proceeds to build the “crooked” half-bridge which would become a world symbol of the failure of relations of two close neighbours and regional co-operation, i.e. Malaysia-Singapore relations and ASEAN. Recently, there was an advertisement war between Malaysia and Singapore on the water dispute between the two countries, with both governments claiming the same success in being able to make its people and those of the neighbouring country to see its point of view.  Neither the governments or people of the two countries had benefited from such an advertisement war, as the only beneficiaries were the media and the advertising agents as the cost of the advertisement spat ran  into  millions of ringgit. We do not want the Malaysian and Singapore governments to have to spend some more millions of ringgit in another round of advertisement war over the “crooked” half-bridge – and the people of both Malaysia and Singapore are entitled to a full and unvarnished account as to why both governments had deviated from their earlier agreement to build a suspension bridge to replace the 80-year-old causeway. But most important of all, both the Malaysian and Singapore governments should bear in mind the far-reaching implications and symbolism of the “crooked” half bridge to replace the Malaysian side of the causeway, and they should act responsibly and sobrely on this issue, as the “engineering feat” of the RM1.1 billion “crooked” half-bridge is a monument Malaysia, Singapore and ASEAN are better off  without. (15/8/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman