I say the decision to demolish the causeway and replace it with a bridge is not a panacea to improve the water quality in the Tebrau Straits.

People who have passed Jalan Wong Ah Fook (near the causeway) would have noticed the huge, dirty ditch which leads directly into Tebrau Straits. It is not at all difficult for passerby to see rats scurrying inside the ditch, and the stagnant water smelt horribly.

When our prime minister mentioned that the water around the causeway was very polluted, the source of the pollution should well be traced to the poorly managed drainage system along the southern coast.

It is true that the construction of a bridge can facilitate the water to flow through the straits thus carries away some of the pollutants. But how effective is it? Look at the murky water below the Penang Bridge. The cause of the pollution is discharge of sewage, industrial waste and siltation that have not been effectively carried away.

Even if we have the new bridge but still continue to release pollutants into the water, we will still eventually pollute the ocean. The root problem must be solved.

The government is willing to spend RM2.26 billion on new customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex which will be part of the bridge. Surely they can afford a better filtration for the drainage system.