Bridging the Gaps

Much water could have flown under the bridge to replace the Causeway but it seems the stance taken by the Malaysians from the start was not a good way to deal with Singapore which is after all a sovereign state.

Malaysia managed to get its knickers in a twist by bundling together too many items in one package and these included:

The new bridge
Railway land in Singapore
New water agreements
Air space for Singapore military training
CPF withdrawals

Negotiating with another country is quite different from passing new laws like the IFL that can be simply bulldozed in Parliament. Maybe the authorities have become so used to bullying Malaysian citizens that the deal with Singapore was considered a fait accompli and that Singapore would just have to agree as it desperately needed Johor’s water.

The Malaysians become so confident that they even awarded a RM1.8billion contract with such indecent haste that it could enter the Guinness World Book of Records as the most expensive project to be awarded in the shortest period with the least transparency.

The crooked bridge concept is creative but also displays great desperation of the proposers. It also confirms that we cannot agree on matters that should benefit both countries.

Most taxpayers want to know how the new bridge will affect end users as the bridge cost is not that cheap. The present Causeway toll is about RM2.60 at each end. With the bridge costing RM640 million one can expect the toll to be at least RM8 each way unless the bridge costs have been offset by the development of commercial projects as part of the deal.

There are some interesting comments in Malaysia Today on the bridge and one writer compares the bridge cost with one constructed in France for about the same amount. That bridge is 2.5km and has a 2-lane dual carriageway but it is built at a height of 250m.
Thus far, taxpayers have not been informed of the proposed new tolls. Dare we hope that the tolls will remain the same?
My guess is that with a toll above RM5, there will be much fewer day-trippers to Johor Bahru and business owners will see a dramatic drop in turnover.

Do you think the JB Chamber of Commerce has done any studies on how business would drop based on the new tolls like:

Toll Business Loss
RM5 10%
RM8 20%
RM10 30%

So how do we untie that Gordian knot?
Suggest we forget about a new water agreement as Singapore is already developing new resources like the Barrage and new technologies in water treatment. Furthermore Malaysia may not have enough water to spare in 2061. Fixing a price now for a future requirement is not good business.

Forget about CPF withdrawals as this is a private matter that gets smaller as members become eligible to withdraw and no new members are enrolled.

Railway land is easily evaluated by location and development plans. What is required is to agree on the profit-sharing ratio. One further aspect is that the railway is corporatised, which means Malaysia should let the company do the dealing. After all they do have a competent BoD?

Which leaves only the air-space problem to be sorted out.
I would think we could allow them use of the air space provided some insurance is provided to the area affected.
This would be in the form of noise pollution compensation and also public liability insurance in case of an air crash.

For noise pollution there would be placed noise metering stations and compensation paid for levels above the agreed levels. Public liability insurance would be about RM10 million.