The Bridge and the Ripe Low Hanging Fruits

A Kadir Jasin

WILL the no-new-bridge option, decided upon by the Cabinet on April 12, be the answer to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s, dream of “plucking the ripe fruits first” in the acrimonious Malaysia-Singapore relations?

Ahmad Fuzi

[LATEST, April 27,

"THAT there should be any Malaysian leader willing to entertain this idea, to destroy Malaysian seas to satisfy Singapore speaks badly of his love for this country," said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, replying to Ahmad Fuzi. Full text see www.kmu.net.my and malaysia today.net]

[JUST A THOUGHT, 2 Mei

Bercakap mengenai buah, teringat kepada Perjanjian Kerjasama Ekonomi dan Perdagangan Bebas Malaysia-Jepun yang ditandatangi oleh Perdana Menteri Malaysia dan Jepun Disember lalu.

Dalam perjanjian itu, kita buka lebih luas pasaran kepada kereta Jepun dan Jepun buka pasaran pertaniannya kepada hasil keluaran kita.

Kenderaan Jepun terus masuk ke Malaysia dan sempena pelancaran Dasar Automotif Nasional, harga kenderaan turun, termasuk harga kenderaan buatan Jepun.

Tetapi kita nak tanya Rafidah dan Muhyiddin, kalau Jepun sudah bukan pasaran pertanian, kenapa petani Perlis terpaksa membuang bertan-tan buah mangga yang tak laku dijual?

Di mana Menteri Pantau RMK-9? Kalau pantau, tentulah petani tak terus susah macam sekarang. Takut-takut "Bumi Hijau" bukan dipenuhi tanaman yang subur menghijau tetapi bendera sebuah parti politik yang berwarna hijau.

Niat ikhlas, Perjanjian Antarabangsa dan Bumi Hijau belum tentu yakinkan rakyat kalau hasilnya belum dirasai, apatah lagi titik peluh berakhir dalam parit kerana mangga Thai lebih murah.

Inilah yang nenek moyang kita maksudkan dengan "kera di hutan disusukan, anak di rumah mati kelaparan." Apa kata hero Perlis?]

That’s among the many questions that Malaysian voters and taxpayers may want answered in the light of the lengthy “diplomatic” explanation of the bridge cancellation by Ambassador At-Large, Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, and the continuing challenge against the decision.

Ahmad Fuzi, who is now the sole authorised spokesman on the bridge issue, had released a statement (in English) explaining events leading to the April 12 cabinet decision to cancel the project.

His statement, which was issued to the Press on the evening of April 24 and embargoed until 1.00am, April 25, injected the diplomatic and legal flavours to the hot and, by now, highly confusing issue.

“Plucking the ripe fruits first”, according to Ahmad Fuzi , was the metaphor Abdullah used to describe his approach to the negotiations with Singapore. Abdullah, according to Ahmad Fuzi, was also hoping to pluck them first from the lower branches.

Although Ahmad Fuzi is not a politician, his explanation included several strong political statements, like reminding us that the present Government has a two-third majority in Parliament and could, if it wants, decide on the issue and get the people to agree later.

[[[[Update, April 27,

LET'S take a coffee break from this heavy stuff. Or shall we say comic break? The Minister responsible for monitorng the 9th Malaysia Plan, Affendi Norwawi, could end up in jail if his ex-wife Zariah Hashim, formally known as Farida Affendi, is successful in her contempt allegation against him.

The Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court had set Aug. 10 to hear contempt proceeding against Affendi for allegedly failing to fulfil a multi-million ringgit divorce settlement entered into on Jan. 28, 2005.

When Muhamad Muhamad Taib faced currency charges in an Australian Court in the 1990's, he was "forced" to take leave and later resigned as Selangor Menteri Besar. That was transparency and accountability. He was later found not guilty.]]]

In fact that’s what it did, actually. It decided to abandon the bridge project and only later informed the people. This happened only weeks after a soft-launch of the project was carried out, officiated by Deputy Works Minister, Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed, and when the construction of the new Custom, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) in Johor Baru is almost completed.

The Role of AG’s Chamber

AHMAD Fuzi’s statement gave the impression of how seriously the Cabinet viewed the opinions of the Attorney General’s Chamber on the legal implications, which appears to be confined to two areas.

One was the relocation of PUB water mains in the Malaysian territory and the likelihood of Singapore not authorising the use of the railway track on its side of the Causeway for reason of structural integrity. This may, in turn, affect the position, thus ownership, of KTM’s assets in Singapore.

Ahmad Fuzi spoke of the Government having four options, namely:

First was to approve the BPU (broad political understanding) and proceed with detailed negotiations to conclude a Final Agreement;

Second was to proceed with the scenic half bridge that would join the Singapore part of the Causeway;

Third was to unilaterally build a scenic half bridge that could eventually be linked to become a full scenic bridge with Singapore; and

Fourth was not to proceed with any bridge at all, which, according to Ahmad Fuzi, was the decision taken by the Government.

Ahmad Fuzi said if a compromise is considered too much under the first option in view of strong public sentiments, this should be the best option.

The Simplest Way Out

THIS option (i.e. the no-bridge-of-any-kind option), according to Ahmad Fuzi, means that Malaysia does not have to consider lifting the ban on the export of sand and granting to Singapore Air Force the limited privileges in the use of its airspace for Search and Rescue missions and as the Northern Corridor Transit.

Malaysia can now even consider imposing a complete ban on the export of sand to any country as a matter of policy if public sentiments on the issue are as strong as being reflected in the media, said Ahmad Fuzi.

It would appear that the Government, acting on the advice of diplomats and legal people, had decided on the simplest option – not to proceed with the project.

But the people’s sentiments are not the only consideration. Singapore’s feeling and/or interest, it appears, are not altogether ignored. Ahmad Fuzi noted:

“ The Government’s decision to scrap the bridge project would also have the advantage of preventing the two sides from being embroiled in endless political bickering and legal disputes.

“The decision is not necessarily a win-lose situation. Malaysia did not really lose even if it did not get the bridge. Singapore too did not look at Malaysia’s decision in terms of victory or defeat. After all, Singapore too did not get what it wanted in respect of sand and airspace.”

Despite his own failure as the head of the Malaysian team to the last five rounds of negotiations with Singapore to make any meaningful headway, Ahmad Fuzi continues to dream of better days in the relations with the island republic.

He said: “More must certainly be done by both sides to allow the two countries to move ahead in nurturing mutually beneficial cooperative relations.”

Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.