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Sun, Jun 27, 2010
New Straits Times
Build that bridge
By Sim Bak Heng and Ben Tan
JOHOR BARU - The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, has urged the Federal Government to build a bridge to replace the Causeway.
A proposal to build an S-shaped bridge was mooted by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and scrapped by his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2006.
Sultan Ibrahim's call is seen as a continuity of the legacy of his late father, who supported the bridge project, when he said the Causeway should be removed to allow water to pass through freely and promote the development of Johor.
In his speech at the launch of JB Sentral and in kicking off the "Kembara Mahkota Johor 2010" project yesterday, the ruler said it was proper to have a new bridge as the Malaysian side of the Causeway already had a new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex.
"I was personally involved in giving my views on the development of the Sultan Iskandar Building, the JB Sentral and the bridge project in 2003.
"To show our support for the development, my late father had allocated a piece of land, belonging to the Johor sultanate, in Kampung Bakar Batu to accommodate flat dwellers at Bukit Cagar and Lumba Kuda who had to vacate their flats to make way for the development.
"Finally, the whole development is in sight and everybody is proud of it. However, there remains an imperfection as the main component of the whole development, which is the bridge project, has yet to kick off."
In Kuantan, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Federal Government would consider the sultan's request to review the 2006 decision.
Present at the launch of Kembara Mahkota Johor 2010 were Sultan Ibrahim's consort, Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.
Earlier, Muhyiddin said JB Sentral marked a milestone in the city's development.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin has instructed the Public Works Department to start work on a new school to replace the building at SJK (Tamil) Ladang Kulai Besar which was damaged by fire last Saturday.
