JOHOR SULTAN’s Call: Demolish CAUSEWAY; First HAPPENED 40 Years AGO; Since Then REPEATED-VARIOUS WAYS; Causeway the Cause of MAHATHIR /ABDULLAH RIFT

UPDATE: 5^th Nov 2006; 19:51pm; Responses from Singapore & Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar

Comments from Singapore Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew

“Our neighbors are determined to catch up with us. We have seen the big plans in South Johore. They are going to build a city 2.5 times bigger than Singapore. They have got the money from oil & gas, we have to compete. We will survive. This place is stable, well run. There will be no gangsters, no pimps, and drug traffickers around the casinos. This is a red dot, we will make it redder and brighter
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Johor Causeway Will Remain, Says PM; From Mohd Kamel Othman; November 05, 2006 23:37 PM ISLAMABAD, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Sunday the Johor Causeway built during the British colonial administration would remain as it is. "At present, we have to use the causeway. It is true that ships can pass (through the strait) if the causeway is not there," he told Malaysian journalists covering his three-day official visit to Pakistan from Saturday. Abdullah said the focus of the government now was on efforts to develop the southern Johor region for the benefit of Johor and the country. The prime minister was asked to comment on a statement by Sultan Iskandar of Johor that the causeway should be removed to enable ships to use the Tebrau Strait that separates Johor and Singapore. The sultan, speaking at the launch of the South Johor Economic Region (SJER) project, now called the Iskandar Development Region project, in Teluk Danga Saturday, said the causeway prevented ships from passing through the Tebrau Strait. Asked whether he was surprised by the statement by the Sultan of Johor, Abdullah said: "I was not surprised." Abdullah said the development of the southern Johor region could provide more opportunities to the people of Johor to increase investment and trade and step up economic activities in the area that would bring "ripple effect" benefits for the whole country. The Iskandar Development Region would serve as a catalyst for the country's economic growth, he said. "The region will be the sole massive development area that will make it one of the largest economic growth and trading areas of Southeast Asia," he said. Asked to comment on a statement by Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad on the possibility of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's criticisms against the government being debated at next week's Umno general assembly if the matter was contained in his policy speech as party president, Abdullah said his speech for the assembly was not ready yet. "My policy speech is not ready yet. Therefore, I do not want to make any comments now," he said.= = = = = =

Call To Demolish Causeway "Curious", Says S'pore

By Jackson Sawatan November 05, 2006 11:37 AM
SINGAPORE, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- The Singapore Foreign Ministry has described as "curious" the remark by the Sultan of Johor who called for the demolition of the Johor Causeway. A ministry spokesman said in a Channel NewsAsia (CNA) report that Singapore did not believe the call represented the Malaysian government's position. Sultan Iskandar caused a stir at the launching of the multi-billion ringgit South Johor Economic Region (SJER) project at Danga Bay in Johor Baharu yesterday when he said in an off-the-text remark that the causeway should be demolished. "Causeway tu, bukakan...baru negeri Johor ni maju (the causeway has to be demolished, only then Johor will develop," the Sultan said before launching the project which was televised live. CNA had also asked Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar for his reaction on the Sultan's call. Syed Hamid said: "I think the most important thing is for us to put the speech and comment in its proper context. "I think what is most important is that we must always learn from the lessons of the past and make sure whatever development we are going to undertake will bring benefit to our well-being, for the good of our people."
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Singapore stands to gain from Malaysia's South Johor Economic Region
Posted: 04 November 2006 2247 hrs
Malaysia unveils US$105b project to turn Johor into thriving economic hub

Singapore stands to gain from Malaysia's South Johor Economic Region Singapore's Changi Airport and sea ports will eventually be the major gateways for the movement of goods and passengers from Malaysia's South Johor Economic Region (SJER). The SJER is a project by Malaysia to turn its southern Johor state into a prosperous metropolis similar to Hong Kong or Shenzhen. When completed in 2025, the SJER will be 2.5 times the size of Singapore and it is set to become Malaysia's second metropolis after the capital Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia plans to turn the SJER into not just a logistical hub but also a centre for medical, educational as well as financial services. Singapore stands to gain from this development. Johor's Economic Planning Unit says Singapore's ports and Changi Airport will be the major outlets for SJER exports. Singapore also stands to gain in another way.

Under the SJER, two zones in Johor Bahru and the Second Link will be known as Free Access Zones where Singaporeans can enter Malaysia without using their passports or going through the immigration. This proposal, which is meant to attract tourists and foreign workers to the area, is in its preliminary stages. And for the economic region to develop and grow, the Sultan of Johor has suggested demolishing the Causeway linking Johor and Singapore. He said that without the Causeway, the Johor economy would prosper. But it's a suggestion the federal government does not seem inclined to take up. Malaysian Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, said: "I think the most important thing is for us to put the speech and comment in its proper context. I think what is most important is that we must always learn from the lessons of the past and make sure whatever development we are going to undertake will bring benefit to our well-being, for the good of our people." Responding to the call to demolish the 82-year-old Causeway, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it found the Sultan's remark curious. An MFA spokesman said Singapore doesn't believe the call represents the Malaysian government's position. - CNA/ir

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The Sultan’s call was perhaps justified as the Causeway had been a gift to the state from Sultan Ibrahim and the federal government had never had any part in the building of the Causeway. But with Visit Malaysia Year is just coming, the timing was offside. It is easier said than to carry it out. Supporters for the demolition of the causeway were obviously for the scenic bridge replacement which was rightly abandoned by the present Government (see previous post here )for the high cost and technical reasons available here. The call to demolish the causeway is nothing new and has been on and off since Singapore separated from Malaysia.

Short is our memory but long is the pain in the relationship between Johore and Singapore. 40 years ago in 1966, after Indonesia recognized Singapore, the speaker of the Johor legislative assembly reflecting a popular sentiment, said the Causeway was "more a hindrance than anything else" and called for its demolishment so that “a port could be built around Johor Baru and ships could call there”.

Then 10 years later, in 1986, the visit of Israeli president Chaim Herzog to Singapore resulted in another bout of such demands with accusations that Sinagpore’s ambition was to make Johor Baru became a "ghost town" and Johor like the “West Bank in Jordan” There was also a demonstration at the Causeway, led by lawyer Abdul Razak Ahmad, deputy president of the People's Socialist Party

The lists go on and on and there were many instances using the causeway as the bone of contention between the two nations when the problem is basically economics jealousy. Hary Lee the Minster Mentor had said “the causeway must be a bridge, not a barrier, between the two countries.” Khazanah Nasional was quick to come out with a call on Johoreans to stop being narrowed minded when dealing with Singapore whose Changi Airport and sea ports will eventually be the major gateways for the movement of goods and passengers from the South Johor Economic Region (SJER). The top brass tried to allay the fears of Johoreans.

Now read on…for the causeway traffic snarls and the antics of Johore Customs to choke it and rendered it “demolished” and inter alia

Demolish Causeway - Sultan Iskandar; November 04, 2006 17:16 PM
November 04, 2006 17:16 PM
ABOVE; The prime Minister (left), the Johor Sultan (Right) with the Mentri Besar Abdul Ghani and his wife together with Sultan's Consort (Blue) admiring a model of the SJER Project

JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar, on Saturday called for demolition of the Johor Causeway, the southern gateway into Malaysia, to provide the passage for ships to pass through the Tebrau Straits which separates Malaysia and Singapore. He said the causeway, built by the British colonialists, was blocking ships from passing through the Tebrau Straits. This had subjected Johor to constant condemnation, he said. "The causeway has to be demolished, only then Johor will develop," he said when launching the multi-billion ringgit South Johor Economic Region (SJER) project in Danga Bay here today. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was present. Built in 1920, the causeway, spanning 1,050m in length from Johor Baharu to Singapore and 18.18m in width, accommodates two railway lines and a 7.87m-wide road. A water pipeline from Johor to Singapore and a telecommunication cable also pass through the causeway. On the SJER project, a joint initiative of the federal and state governments, the Sultan said he was confident the project would succeed with the cooperation of all parties. He hoped it would open up opportunities for Johoreans and the benefits reaped by people from all strata of society in the state. He also reminded Johoreans to learn a lesson from the experiences of the forefathers who were easily deceived by the British.

"We better not be naive to be not cheated again," he said. The Ruler thanked the federal government, particularly Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, for allocating a substantial amount for Johor's economic development. The Sultan later placed an iconic time capsule at the project site which would be kept until 2025.

In conjunction with the launch, the massive SJER project, developed by Khazanah Nasional, the federal government's investment arm, was given a new name -- Iskandar Development Region. The project entails RM47 billion investment in the first five years from 2006 to 2010 and RM335 billion in the next 15 years between 2011 and 2025.

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Khazanah Tells Johoreans To Be Open Minded When Dealing With Singapore; November 04, 2006 22:41 PM

JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Khazanah Nasional today called on Johoreans to stop being narrowed minded when dealing with Singapore whose Changi Airport and sea ports will eventually be the major gateways for the movement of goods and passengers from the South Johor Economic Region (SJER). Its Senior Vice President in the Managing Director's Office Ahmad Shahizam Mohd Shariff said today that Johoreans must be realistic in their assessments and look at the SJER plan from the economic and geographical perspective. "We should not look at it merely as a relationship between south Johor and Singapore but also the overall relationship of the state with Port Klang, Penang and the rest of Malaysia as well as Indonesia. "Why look at the narrow differences, why not look at its strength potential in the region," he said when asked whether Khazanah had taken into account political considerations and implications for Johor when drawing up the plan. Ahmad was speaking to reporters at a SJER briefing held after its launching today by Sultan Iskandar of Johor at the Danga Bay here. Also present was Khazanah Nasional Senior Vice President Ismail Ibrahim who led the team that drew-up the SJER master plan after it was conceptualized by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi about 15 months ago. Besides Changi Airport and the Singapore ports link, under the SJER, two zones, in Johor Baharu and the Second Link, will be known as Free Access Zones where Singaporeans can enter the country without using their passports or going through the immigration. Ismail, who hails from Penang, when commenting about it said that the well- being of Johoreans had always been in his mind when drawing up the plan. "The concerns of Johoreans had always been foremost on our minds as we cannot do something in isolation. However, the main concern had been to bring wealth to the people of Johor and enhance their livelihoods. "They (Johoreans) must come to terms with this, so that is why I think that at the end of the day, if we can properly and deliberately spell out these objectives and concerns it will show that we are actually addressing their problems. Then I think the people in south Johor will be able to accept what we are doing for them," he added. A leader from a local pig farmers association when told about this by Bernama said that the federal government should have asked for more trade concessions from Singapore before agreeing to open up the state. He said that pig farmers themselves had suffered more than enough since the Singapore government banned pork meat from Johor since 1990 due to a health scare.

The same ordeal had also been suffered by vegetables and poultry farmers in the state whose goods were often blocked from entering the country allegedly on health grounds by the Singapore authorities. These blockades, he claimed were very unfair as the farmers suffered huge losses each time as foods were perishable items. The Pasir Gudang Port that was established in 1980 and Port of Tanjung Pelepas, which was established six years ago, were initially conceived to stop the state from continuing to rely on Singapore ports.

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A case of blackmail? Perspective: Straits Times Oct 18, 1997.

MANDARIN oranges and cement are some of the things that have been at the centre of Causeway tussles in the past. A look back in history shows there is more to the current Causeway clamp than meets the eye. By Chua Lee Hoong

IT IS not, of course, but it could almost be -- that is, an anniversary celebration by Johor Customs officials. Eight years ago, on exactly the same day -- Oct 3 -- Johor Customs officials started a campaign of meticulous checks on lorries, ostensibly to prove they were doing their jobs. The result? Queues stretching back several kilometres from the Causeway. Some lorries even stopped sending goods to Singapore. But there is one marked difference between 1989 and now. Then, the initiative was purely private. Customs officers decided on the go-slow themselves, in retaliation against some lorry drivers who had complained to the authorities about their more avaricious ways. Just a few days before, acting on tip-offs, the Anti-Corruption Agency had hauled up six of their colleagues after finding some $300 in small denominations at their counters. They were not supposed to have more than a few dollars there. Now, the initiative is from the federal authorities in Kuala Lumpur. Even the Johor Customs chief, Mr Lasa Mohamad Desa, does not know when he can call off the checks. He has to wait for instructions from Kuala Lumpur.

The motivation this time is less apparent. The ostensible reason, to weed out smugglers and tax evaders, does not stand up to scrutiny. If indeed there are smugglers and tax evaders, the proper thing to do is to get more informed intelligence and then mount a more focused operation. The theory that the jams are a form of "arm-twisting", to get lorries to use Port Klang instead, is more plausible. The Malaysian government has made no secret of its intention to get companies in Malaysia to import and export through domestic ports, instead of using Singapore's. Their belief: they are only taking back what is theirs. Similar jams have occurred before. Sometimes the modus operandi vary, but the objectives can be depressingly familiar. In 1977 -- the year the Pasir Gudang port near Desaru opened -- the Johor Customs department shortened its opening hours to such an extent that lorry operators complained of losses of as much as M$1,000 a day, in 1977 dollars. But instead of moving operations to Pasir Gudang, these canny operators upped their rates by as much as 60 per cent, and passed costs on to the companies hiring their services.

Innocent jams

NOT all Causeway jams have had such devious roots, of course. Some have been innocuous, such as one in 1977 when the Johor Customs moved its premises. Others occurred for reasons that had nothing to do with Singapore. In October 1981, again following a bribery crackdown, Customs officers embarked on an elaborate examination of items Malaysians brought back after shopping in Singapore. They even acquired a weighing machine to weigh the fruits they brought back. Declaration forms were subject to excruciatingly careful scrutiny. An exasperated editorial in the New Straits Times said: "It's all according to the book, we are told. But mile-long jams at the checkpoints? Can't the Customs officers at least speed-read?" In January 1982, an even bigger jam occurred, but for a different reason. More than 1,000 lorries queued for hours, some overnight, to get back to Malaysia. Part of the reason was the usual pre-Chinese New Year rush, but the larger reason was a recent relaxation of duty-free laws.

The Malaysian government had just exempted from duty consumer goods such as cameras, watches, pens and lighters, and abolished excise duties on household appliances such as cookers, lamps and ovens.

Its intention was to encourage companies to import these items directly from their manufacturing countries. Many Malaysians, however, preferred the short cut -- they trooped to Singapore to buy up these items by the lorry loads. That incident ended positively, with Johor Customs extending its daily operating hours from 12 to 15, to clear the jams. This was at the suggestion of Datuk Musa Hitam, then the deputy prime minister, who also suggested more parking for lorries which arrived at the checkpoint after closing time, so that they would not clog up the roads.

Stops and starts

BUT other snarls at the Causeway have been far from amusing. Some are a mirror of the complex relationship between the countries at its two ends, which, like the traffic, has been a long series of stops and starts. The first big jam was clearly political. It occurred on April 17, 1966, just as Indonesia -- then Malaysia's arch-enemy, following the 1965 Confrontation -- indicated it was going to recognise Singapore as an independent, sovereign nation. According to newspaper reports, the Malaysian Home Affairs ministry ordered a check on all vehicles using the Causeway. None was spared. Even the trains, carrying hundreds of people, were stopped and their passengers checked. Those holding Singapore identity cards were questioned. Two days later, home affairs minister Tun Ismail bin Abdul Rahman announced that all Singapore identity card holders would have to report to the nearest Johor police station whenever they entered the country.

He told reporters the move was to ensure the internal security of Malaysia. Singapore's then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, he said, had been reported as "welcoming the Jakarta regime's intention to recognise Singapore". "He has been reported as saying that he likes to be friends of friends, and not an enemy of friends' enemies," he said, adding that he had to take such a statement "seriously". What Mr Lee had said to reporters while on a trip to Bangkok was: "Our friends may be your friends, but your foes may not necessarily be our foes." The following year, Singapore and Malaysia introduced formal immigration controls on people crossing the road link. The Johor Causeway had become, in the words of Mr C. V. Devan Nair, a "Johor Wall", like the Berlin Wall. Sir Winston Churchill, Britain's prime minister during the war years, wrote to the London Times to lament the fact.

Demolish the Causeway

AS IF separate immigration controls were not enough, many Malaysians have over the years demanded that the separation go one step further -- demolish the Causeway.

Like calls to cut off the supply of water to Singapore, these calls erupt whenever northern tempers flare against its southern neighbour.

In 1966, after Indonesia recognised Singapore, the speaker of the Johor legislative assembly, Haji Ali bin Haji RayaSingapore, reflecting a popular sentiment, said the Causeway was "more a hindrance than anything else", and was of no use to Malaysia at all, politically or economically.

If it was demolished, he said, a port could be built around Johor Baru and ships could call there.

His call was echoed by activists in Umno.

In 1986, the visit of Israeli president Chaim Herzog to Singapore resulted in another bout of such demands. A letter writer to the Malaysian Berita Harian, Mr Awang bin Noh, said it was because of the Causeway that Johor Baru became a "ghost town" while Singapore prospered. "If we just demolish the Causeway, Johor Baru will thrive as it used to in the past." He added: "Singapore has an ambition to make Johor like the West Bank in Jordan. We should hold military exercises in Johor Baru and its surrounding areas as a warning to Singapore that any country which dares to cross the Straits of Johor will be severely dealt with." There was also a demonstration at the Causeway, led by lawyer Abdul Razak Ahmad, deputy president of the People's Socialist Party. (This is the same Abdul Razak of Tang Liang Hong fame -- the lawyer-friend who highlighted Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's remarks on Johor to the media earlier this year.

(Interestingly, he was also the lawyer acting for a group of residents in Gelang Patah in south-west Johor in 1991, wanting compensation from the Malaysian government for having to move to make way for the building of the second link between Tuas and Gelang Patah.) So far, calls to demolish the Causeway have never received any official endorsement from Kuala Lumpur, although there can be no doubt they are allowed, and even encouraged, for their value in getting a point across to the southern neighbour, without breaching diplomatic etiquette.

Even as some quarters called for the Causeway to be blown up, the federal government was going ahead with plans to expand it, ahead of its drive to promote Malaysia as a tourist destination. In August 1988, it revealed a M$300 million blueprint to upgrade the link, including increasing the number of lanes from 14 to 22, and the number of bays from 22 to 55. It was targeted for completion in 18 months, in time for a "Visit Malaysia" year in 1990. As a run-up, 1989 was declared "Visit Johor" year. A "hundred flowers" in Singapore-Johor relations bloomed that year, as the state looked to Singapore actively for investments. Under Mentri Besar Muhyiddin Yasin, Singapore was no longer seen as a threat, but as an opportunity. More hotels and shopping centres were built to woo Singaporeans. A joint Singapore-Johor economic committee was set up. As the state's economic chief, Datuk Ali Hashim noted, both sides now realised there was much to gain by working together.

Previously, he said, they had feared that development in Singapore would dominate, and Johor would become a "client state". On the Singapore side, then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew gave an interview to the Nanyang Siang Pau, saying that the Causeway must be a bridge, not a barrier, between the two countries. The trade and industry ministry gave incentives to companies to relocate to Johor. The Straits Times editorialised: "Where else in the world does a government actually grant tax incentives to companies to invest in a neighbouring country?" Even when the half-tank rule, which requires Singapore cars to have half a tank of petrol before going to Johor, was introduced, the reaction from Johor politicians was equable.

State tourism chief Jimmy Low assured Johoreans that the rule would not affect their businesses. But the reaction up in Kuala Lumpur was markedly different. In a classic example of shadow play, unnamed "official sources" were quoted in the New Straits Times in May as saying that Malaysia was "not keen" on building the second link.

The anonymous sources said the decision was not influenced by the half-tank rule, as Malaysia "had always been tolerant of shows of trade protectionism" by its southern neighbour. Six weeks later, newspaper headlines splashed news of the second link being a firm reality.

Concrete action

IF INDEED it was an act of protectionism, Singapore's half-tank rule counts as very feeble compared to Malaysia's own examples. There have been periodic calls to cut Singapore out of the entrepot trade. During the Herzog incident, for example, a Johor MP called for imports and exports going through Singapore to be diverted to Malaysian ports.

Malaysia has yet to heed calls to demolish the Causeway, but on the trade front, some calls have been translated into action. In 1980, under the pretext of a domestic shortage, Malaysia banned the export of building materials -- bricks, granite, clay, glass, sand and cement -- to Singapore. This was despite appeals by the Johor Quarry Association, which noted that some quarries were in danger of closing because of idle capacity.

The ban was eventually lifted two years later, but not before six of the 11 quarry firms in the state closed down and hundreds of workers were laid off. In January 1984, Malaysia imposed a hefty M$100 levy on all lorries using the Causeway - even empty ones - to deter companies from exporting through Singapore. Six months later leveis were imposed on all cars. The pretext given for the M$1 toll was to recover the costs of building the Senai highway, but motorists - all of them, regardless of whether they were headed for the highway or a satay meal by the roadside - had to pay it at the checkpoint. With some 300,000 cars using the Causeway each day, the Johor state goverment decided to ask the federal authorities for a share of the revenue, as, it argued, the Causeway had been a gift to the state from Sultan Ibrahim and the federal government had never had any part in the building of the Causeway. Hard on the heels of the toll shock came a surprise import tax on cement. Without warning on July 1, 1984, Singaporean firms selling cement to Malaysia found they had to pay M$80 for each tonne of cement. This worked out to between M$800 and M$1600 per trip. The move was in response to complaints from Malaysian cement manufacturers who alleged that Singapore was dumping cement in the Peninsula. Singapore cement was selling at a price 30 per cent cheaper. The Master Builders Association of Malaysia appealed to the federal government, saying it should not encourage the use of local materials "at the expense of efficiency and competitiveness". But even before the dust from the cement war had settled, another war started, this time over mandarin oranges. A consignment of the fruit, which had come from China was held up by Johor Cutoms for five days in January 1985, apparently over some discrepancy in its declaration form.

The Malaysian trade and industry minister, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, said all the government wanted was to encourage its companies to import directly from China. There would be no discrimination against those which went through third parties, he said.

But Singaporeans were unconvinced. One said: "It is precisely this kind of bureaucratic delay that can be used to create non-tarriff barriers."

Blackmail

The current lorry jam at the Causeway is certainly another form of non-tarriff barrier. took their anger out on lorry drivers following an anti-corruption crackdown were criticised by many as blackmailers. This time, the Customs officials appear mere pawns in a larger federal game. Could the federal government be the blackmailers now? They were the ones who issued instructions to the Customs department to check all lorries.

The objective appears to be the age old one of getting companies to ship their goods through malaysian ports. Even though, as one company manger said, the infrastructure is "not good" and the clearing times "much longer". Will the arm-twisting succeed? Will companies knuckle under the pressure? Whatever the outcome of the present jam, one thing is certain: the Causeway will continue to be used by KL as an instrument of its policies whenever it suits its purpose. It has had a long history of doing so. Singapore has stood up to the challenge in the past and should be able to counter the current move. After all, it does have one, not insignificant, factor in its favour: the Singapore port, which has an even longer history of being one of the most efficient in the world. That should count for quite a bit in this long drawn saga
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There are groups of people sowing ill-will through SMS rumours, a new form of media. The latest incident stating that 600 muslim student from a Politeknik would be converted by Dato Azhar Mansor (the famous solo yatchman who sailed solo round the world and supposed to be an apostate) asked protesters to go to the Churh. There were tensions at the Church.