Don't hide behind OSA, Mahathir tells gov't

Malaysiakini – 2/7/2006 
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar must show proof that Malaysia did not propose to sell sand to Singapore or allow its air force to use Johor’s airspace in the pursuit to build a new bridge, said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

In view of this, Mahathir said the government should declassify documents pertaining to the negotiations between Malaysia and Singapore on the scrapped half-bridge project. 

"If it is not true that Malaysia had proposed to sell sand to Singapore and provide airspace for warplanes to practise, then the foreign minister must show documented proof, including minutes of meetings and draft agreements where these proposals were made. 

"This can be done by declassifying minutes of meetings between the Malaysia and Singapore negotiating teams to prove beyond reasonable doubt the minister's assertion. 

“The Official Secrets Act should not be used to hide untruths," he was quoted as saying by Bernama. 

Mahathir was responding to Syed Hamid's statement in Parliament on Thursday. In a written reply to opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, the foreign minister had said Malaysia did not make the two offers to Singapore as claimed by Mahathir, and dismissed it as "baseless".
'I stopped it' 

Without the documents, the former premier said it must be assumed that Malaysia, which was pursuing the building of a straight bridge in place of a crooked or a scenic bridge decided by the previous administration of which construction had already started before it was cancelled, had made the proposal. 

Mahathir said to his understanding, the proposal came from Malaysia and that there was nothing in writing to suggest that the request had actually originated from Singapore. 

On claims by Syed Hamid that Malaysia sold sand to Singapore even during his administration, Mahathir said the quantity then was small as compared to that now being offered to Singapore amounting to one billion cubic metres for 20 years. 

He noted that while sand was sold to Singapore during his time in office, the practice had been going on even before he became prime minister. 

Mahathir pointed out that it was he who stopped such practices which were then carried out by private entities after such practices proved detrimental to Malaysia's territorial integrity and sovereignty. 

"This was because extensive reclamation work by Singapore was affecting the waterways in the Straits of Tebrau," he explained. 
Access abused

On the issue of granting airspace access to Singapore’s air force, Mahathir said the republic's air force was allowed access to Malaysia's airspace in the past. 

However, he decided to revoke the permission when they abused the access by flying beyond Johor airspace and conducting search and rescue missions without informing or requesting permission from the Malaysian authorities. 

"To allow the RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) access again as quid-pro-quo arrangement in pursuit of a straight bridge is absolutely unacceptable especially when there is not even any reciprocity on the part of the republic to grant the Royal Malaysian Air Force jets access over Singapore airspace," he said
Source: www.malaysiakini.com