Najib's 3rd bridge not too far for his true intention

Refer to Malaysiakini A bridge too far from JB!

When Najib Razak proposed the 3rd bridge I wasn’t interested in blogging on it, for the reason I suspected (I still do) that he was trying to please everyone, mostly Dr Mahathir, his mentor/sponsor and suspected éminence grise - but in reality, without any intention to build anything ;-), a case of janji kosong.

He didn’t want to return to the issue of the ‘crooked bridge’ because that would be seen as undermining and insulting the decision of his predecessor AAB. Though Najib is in many ways a westernised and sophisticated man, he is still steeped in his adat Melayu, where he doesn’t want to be noted by the heartland as being disloyal to his retired boss.

He also doesn’t want to re-invoke the touchy subject of doing away with the Causeway, or at least the Malaysian part of it, as threatened by the Grand Old Man. Najib wants a far more friendly relationship with our rich neighbour than had previously existed, perhaps for the purpose of encouraging greater Singaporean investments so vital to boosting a now near moribund Malaysian economy.

He decided to do an Edward de Bono by proposing a 3rd bridge – a quite interesting concept for the distant future, but hardly a feasible project in the current or intermediate climate.

Really, I suspect he doesn’t give a sh*t if it takes off or not, for he has already in one fell politically ingenious de Bono-ish stroke, mollified (somewhat if not totally) Dr M, honoured the prime ministerial decision of AAB, and spared the Singaporeans the problem of an Arnheim-ish stoush.

I suspect the principal target of his appeasement has been his mentor, whom he feared could turn into a difficult Old Man of the Sea* if his (mentor's) 'big picture' policies (whatever these might have been) and desired development were ignored.

* incidentally, according to Richard Francis Burton, the noted 19th Century explorer, soldier, writer and translater, the Old Man of the Sea in the tale of Sindbad was probably from (Borneo) Malaysia wakakaka.

Even Lee Kuan Yew might have fallen for Najib’s proposed nonnever-to-be-event because the Singaporeans, being the economic animals they are, have quick as a flash aired their quid pro quo for the 3rd bridge, namely Malaysian sand, (indirectly) Malayan Railway land in Singapore (our only grip on Sing balls, and boy, what a delightful grip wakakaka), and Malaysian whatever, etc.

Najib must be laughing away as he sips his teh-o-peng with a slice of buah limau while reading the many frenzied and pontificating analyses on the non viability of his proposal. And when the Sultan saw fit to leave his constitutional perch to voice his dissatisfaction with the 3rd bridge, Najib would have gone into hysterical giggling, a state of quasi-latah wakakaka.

Mind you, I don’t support constitutional monarchy intruding outside their terms of reference, no matter how trivial the issue may be, no, not one iota.

* In this matter of recent unconstitutional intrusions, the only silver lining had been the unexpected but serendipitous selection/appointment of PAS Nizar Jamaluddin as the MB of Perak. That HRH had believed he would bear his royal claws, fangs and (in Justice NH Chan’s words) pretend-power to override an inexperienced Pakatan Rakyat by dismissing the Pakatan’s choice and appointing ‘his royal choice’ – wakakaka, history has a way of exploding in the face of those who thought they were too clever by half! Padan muka!

Talking about silver lining, here's one more, this time for Dr Mahathir. In the Malaysiakini news article, both Skudai assemblyman (DAP) Boo Cheng Hau and Pulai MCA division chief Low Teh Hian, unusually for pollies from these two party, arrived at a confluence in their conclusion on the 3rd bridge, that it would be far better to build a new bridge to replace the 86-year-old Causeway.

Mind you, they did try to distinguish their proposal from Dr M’s, by insisting it should be a straight bridge instead of a 'crooked' bridge that Dr M proposed after the Singaporeans refused to play ball.

But Dr M had of course wanted a straight bridge in the first place, with only the meandering shape thrown in to show the Singaporeans that Malaysia would have a bridge on its part of the border, regardless. In that, Dr M was also de Bono-ish wakakaka!