Be it "crooked bridge", "scenic bridge" or even "cynic bridge" as labelled by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia is going ahead with the plan to build a bridge across its half of the Johor Strait, with work to begin after Chinese New Year.

The Government had decided not to wait for Singapore’s decision on the matter, as the delay was costing Johor in terms of potential growth and the plan now is to build the bridge within Malaysia’s territorial waters without demolishing the Causeway.

While the shape of the bridge would be a reflection of relations between the two countries, whether the Singaporeans are straight or the Malaysians are crooked as some Singaporean sources said, it doesn’t matter.

What matter is how Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak reacted on Singapore seeking clarification from the Malaysian authorities over the construction of bridge.

[…] any clarification with regard to Malaysia’s decision to proceed with a plan to build a bridge across half of the Johor Strait will be made through Wisma Putra.

"There is a joint negotiation team between Singapore and Malaysia. So, they can use that as a forum or they can liase directly with Singapore if there is a specific request," he told reporters after attending a function here.

A very good answer from Pak Najib and I really mean it.

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