Comments by MFA Spokesman on Bernama Report of 14 Feb 2003

Asked to comment on the Bernama report of 14 February 2003 quoting Prime Minister Mahathir as saying that he had been informed by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew that Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was not in favour of a new bridge to replace the Causeway "because he has a sense of nostalgia over the Causeway", and that " we [Malaysia and Singapore] can construct a bridge after Goh Chok Tong's retirement ...", the MFA Spokesman said:

"Prime Minister Mahathir is an entertaining story-teller. But for facts, please refer to Minister Jayakumar's statement in Parliament and the exchange of letters between both sides.

Prime Minister Goh did not think that there was a need to replace the Causeway with a new bridge, when the Causeway was serving both countries well, and the Second Link was still under-utilised. It would be a waste of several hundred million dollars. However, since Malaysia was extremely keen on the bridge, in the interests of concluding a package deal, including the supply of future water to Singapore, Prime Minister Goh had agreed to it, and suggested that the Causeway be knocked down after 2007 when the bridge had been completed."

The MFA Spokesman added:

"In fact, Malaysian and Singapore officials had held two rounds of technical discussions, on 6 June and 1 September 2002, to see how Malaysia's technical requirements for a new bridge could be accommodated.

It was Malaysia that called off the package negotiations in October 2002, thus bringing to a stop any further discussion of the bridge."

The MFA Spokesman said that "the documents released by Minister Jayakumar in Parliament on 25 January 2003 are not figments of the imagination. That may explain why the Malaysian media had chosen not to publish them."

The relevant extracts of the documents are as follows:

On 24 August 2000, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew wrote to then-Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin to say:

"On Mahathir's Causeway bridge proposal, my PM agrees to it, but proposes that we do not demolish the Causeway. He is wary of a public outcry if he agrees to the destruction of a historical and still valuable asset, just to replace it with a beautifully designed bridge but one that will lead to increased toll charges.

He can better present the bridge proposal to the people of Singapore if he can say that three links are needed for longer-term traffic growth, that even at present, during weekends and the holiday season, there is congestion at the Causeway."

In the Annex to his letter to Prime Minister Mahathir of 21 September 2001, Senior Minister Lee said:

"Singapore agrees to Malaysia's proposal for a bridge to be built between Singapore and Malaysia.

However, Singapore proposes that the demolition of the Causeway take place after 2007, when both the bridge and tunnel have been completed..."

On 11 April 2002, Prime Minister Goh wrote to Prime Minister Mahathir to say:

"Between a new bridge to replace the entire Causeway, and one to replace just the Malaysian side of the Causeway, I like the former better.

Once the new bridge is completed, the Causeway can be knocked down, which I prefer to be done after 2007.

But if you wish to proceed immediately to replace just your side of the Causeway with a bridge, I shall accept it, though I think this is not ideal."

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
15 FEBRUARY 2003