For me, Johor Baru is one hell of a depressing town. After more than half a century of BN rule it has degenerated into a filthy and crime ridden southern gateway for the country and an absolute disgrace to us all.
The Malaysian Insider reports, here, "Over the past few days, the mainstream media has been making a case to revive the crooked bridge across the Johor Strait, a project cancelled by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his early days as prime minister that irked his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad". It was also no surprise to me when the JB UMNO youth head was reported as saying that “The people of Johor are placing high hopes on the (new) prime minister to review the decision to cancel the crooked bridge project across the Johor Straits".
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 of the causeway to flow freely, well, haven't they heard of tunnels?
I believe the Singaporeans are also not thrilled to bits about the idea in the first place and I doubt if they will change their minds soon, especially during this economic downturn. Their factories are retrenching workers and with about 300,000 Malaysians in Singapore who may soon lose their jobs, perhaps JB UMNO Youth should look elsewhere to fill their pockets. Lets just forget about it and dont make us all look like idiots of the first order.
Kapitan, satu tulisan anda yang sungguh dangkal dan emosi.
ReplyDeleteBiar kami, Johorian yang buat keputusan untuk anda. Datanglah melawat jambatan ini bila siap, bawa anak cucu seperti anda menikmati keindahan twin tower.
Captain
ReplyDeleteFully agree with you. The Crooked Bridge is to fill the pockets of he Crooked UMNO cronies...oops... its Crooked Mahathir Cronies.
A Crooked Bridge for Crooked People
Kluangman,
ReplyDeleteJB crooked bridge = KL twin towers?
Youve gotta be kidding, my man
Capt. What Johor need is the redevelopment of JB itself. Like you I am depressed whenever I visit JB. I now bypass it and instead use the Second link to get to Singapore. It would be wise to use the kind of money to redevelop JB into a modern metropolitan city instead of the bridge. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteCapt, komen tentang jambatan bengkok tu tak berapa tepat. Jambatan tu mampu bagi pelancaran untuk trafik dari dan sememang nya mampu jana ekonomi baru. Tapi kalau pasal selat tu tak cukup dalam saya rasa kerajaan boleh dalamkan lagi selat tu waktu kerja-kerja pembinaan jambatan tu. Perkara ni saya agak dah dipertimbangkan. Harap Capt jangan emosi sangat tentang anti UMNO ni.
ReplyDeleteDear Ancient Mariner,
ReplyDeleteNot building the bridge is Stupid in my opinion! Kluangman is spot on.
Cheers!
Pak Nujum
Captain,
ReplyDeleteI know you're smarter than this.The bridge is not about Tun Mahathir's cronies.
As a Singaporean I feel the Tun is spot on in wanting to build the bridge.It's not about "Johore Straits not deep enough so a ship cannot pass in"...think captain!!
Hi Captain,
ReplyDeleteNote that the word CRONY comes before CROOK and thereafter comes CROOKED. Thus, is it just coincident ? When we use our crooked mind to think and plan, obviously we need crook and crony to support this " WISE " plan, lah !!!
We are already one of the international pariah after Labuan was deemed an island for offshore money laundering, why are we adding another feather in the cap for this crooked plan ? May God saves us all from evil and corrupted people with plan to scheme tax payers money.
If Johorean want that crooked bridge, by all mean get your own state fund to fulfill your dream. It's not fair for other Malaysians especially the Sabah & Sarawak tax payers to foot your bill.
ReplyDeleteI'll do the crooked bridge just to spite the Singaporeans.
ReplyDeleteDevilmaycare
fareezan, Anon 11:59
ReplyDeleteUnlike the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge, no way can a ship sail under this bridge and pass thru the narrow swing bridge for the railway line. Like the capt pointed out, maybe for yatchs and boats.
So the issue of deepening the Johore straits for ships does not arise.
Young mariner
When the crooked bridge was cancelled, the contractor was paid an enormous sum of money for the cancellation. Now, if this bridge is revived, the contractor will certainly ask for more money again such as cost of mobilisation, increase price, etc. Therefore, a lot more money will have to pump in. It is not difficult to see who are the benefector of this bridge revival. You may want to find out who is the contractor and chairman of this company. Hint, Selangor water deal.
ReplyDeleteAfter Mahathir did a lot of bitching with Badawi, that rascal Velu rushed in with indecent haste and the Works Ministry/EPU paid out $700 million compensation for a few conceptual drawings and nothing more to Gerbang Perdana for the Crooked Bridge project (directly negotiated/non-tendered out contract by Mahathir) which was suspended 'permanently.' In whose hands this huge sum actually ended up in is a great mystery till today.
ReplyDeleteNow these crooked Johor politicians and fraudtrepreneurs want to revive this ill-conceived project?
They seem to have forgotten the little matter of a legal opinion that is in the hands of our AG that M'sia cannot build this stupidly designed bridge without S'pores consent. This is part of the original agrrement for the Causeway and no way is S'pore going to allow M'sia to build this crooked bridge to try and wreck S'pore's Economy.
I trust they will not create another fiasco like they did with Pedra Blanca and lose face internationally should S'pore fight it again at the International Court of Justice!
And besides, on what ground is this Johor UMNO Youth Head claiming to speak 'on behalf of all Johoreans'? Which 2 persons did he speak to?
Furthermore, no proper engineering or financial feasibility has EVER been done on this project and that's true Mahathirism - belakang kira. There is no such thing as a project at any cost. Most of the traffic problems at the Causeway have to do with 100% immigration security checks at the S'pore end and not to lack of a proper Causeway link.
True to form, M'sia has just completed the new CI at a cost of a billion or so $. What's going to happen to it if the crooked bridge is built? Another 1 time write-off?
Stupid!Stupid!Stupid!
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com
Dear Capt,
ReplyDeleteThe crooked design of the bridge is really a true and accurate symbol of the whole crazy idea.Crooked to the core!The intention to spent millions to built it is a complete and utter waste of our precious ringgit.What does it really serve? Not more than just another "landmark" and line some selected and privileged pockets.
Th emoney would be better spend on the Penang one!
/// If it was due to environmental concerns to allow water on both sides of the causeway to flow freely, well, haven't they heard of tunnels? ///
ReplyDeleteCaptain, even this excuse does not hold water (pun intended). If you look under the causeway, there are already culverts there, allowing flow of water east and west.
Memandangkan koridor Iskandar majoritinya dipenuhi dengan pelabur dari singapura, berbanding sebelum ini.
ReplyDeleteJambatan bengkok akan menjadi pemangkin yang sesuai untuk kerajaan Singapura turut bersetuju meneruskan pembinaanya semula.
Banyak aktiviti ekonomi akan berlaku di sekitar dan menguntungkan kedua pihak untuk menceriakan keadaan ekonomi yang muram.
Yang tidak bersetuju lebih kepada emosi.
Mr Kluangman
ReplyDeleteYou are missing the woods for the trees. Even Mahathir has said last year that Iskandar project is a platform for Singapore to expand its sovereignty!
You johorians can keep fooling youself if you think S'porians are going to accept the bridge as a condition for them to invest.
I think that spending hundreds of millions Ringgit to build a monument for Crooked Politicians is a total no-brainer. We might as well consider building a tunnel, just like the good ol' captain said. Besides, I don't see how the crooked bridge is going to expand JB's capacity for business and opportunities, other than spur a temporary economic surge during the period of construction. If the govt. had thought of building a tunnel (a long one that is) in the heart of KL city, what about JB?
ReplyDeleteSalam Capt,
ReplyDeleteAs a resident of Johor Bahru, permit me to put forward some of my views on this particular subject. I do admit that JB is not really a nice city to live in although I won't go to the extent of saying it is a disgrace to all of Malaysia. If not for family reasons, I would like to spend my old age at a different town. But that's not the point of my comment.
The revival of this crooked bridge idea is somewhat surprising, whatever we may assume the underlaying motives to be. I am all for the replacement of the causeway with a new bridge... but it should be a proper (straight) bridge, not a crooked one. The whole idea of a crooked bridge is a farce, something to satisfy the ego of an outgoing PM. If it had been built, then it would've stood as testimony of sour relations for years to come.
If there is still the intention to build the bridge, then please build a proper one. And build it for the right reasons... not because of political pressure, or to enrich some cronies, or to kow-tow to Singapore, or just to spite our neighbours.
I reckon the "usefulness" of that crooked bridge by crooks will be the same as KL's "smart tunnel".
ReplyDeleteSmart tunnel is so "useful".
Capt.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the photo, it is obvious that the bridge was designed 'crooked' simply to allow the height and clearence for boats and yachts (certainly not for ships) to pass through instead of having to go around Singapore island. This is not altogether a bad thing. Even the 2nd link bridge has a 25m height clearance for this purpose.
To digress a bit, I believe this was part of Mahathir's grandiose plan to make this country a haven for luxury yachts (with Langkawi as a base) to rival the Bahamas, Cayman Islands etc. The Langkawi International Yacht Registry Act was rushed through parliament in 2003 for this to happen.
Unfortunately, this plan has yet to take off simply because: Why would European tycoons want to spend their summers sailing around our pirate-infested waters instead of the West Indies which is nearer and more convenient for them?
I agree with you Cap!
ReplyDeleteIf the G wants us to build this bridge, then PROVE it to the rakyat with precise calculations, working papers and Proof of Concept, that ships can pass underneath and it will benefit the economy.
This is how any professional company would prepare for a multi-million ringgit project, and this is a multi-BILLION ringgit project!
Msian Govt is SO UNPROFESSIONAL. Najib says he wants performance first, well Najib, go on and show us you mean actions, not rubbish words.
I read in some blog that the crooked bridge is to make it difficult for Singapore to invade Johor....lol
ReplyDeleteDear Captain.
ReplyDeleteDo you know why it is called the Crooked Bridge.
Not because it is crooked. But because it will be built by crooks.
Hahahaha!
perhaps not too late to make a comment
ReplyDeletetug boats and lots of barge. from east to west & vice versa. that's the original plan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barge