In February, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the bridge replacement for the 80-year old causeway between Johor and Singapore will happen regardless if it was 'lurus, bengkok ataupun herot' (straight, crooked or skewed).

Just two months later, Abdullah's about turn in abandoning the project citing legal issues among the reasons, has sparked a flurry of speculations for the backtracking. Below are some of their views.

Husam Musa, PAS vice-president

:

The artist's impression (shown by the media) of the 'scenic bridge' does not consider the water pipeline that is presently running parallel to the 80-year old causeway.

Although there is no political implication [by the artist], water is a big security concern for Singapore, for which they will have legal grounds to stop the project.

Up until yesterday, the government was nevertheless adamant in building the bridge, while failing to take into consideration Malaysia's water agreement with Singapore and ignoring the substantial legal and other implications.

At last, the government has now admitted that they have made an oversight on the matter. They have no one to blame but themselves. This is a great failure and it brings a lot of shame to the prime minister.

N Marimuthu, Fomca president :

With the scrapping of the 'scenic bridge' project, Fomca would like to see the current government fulfilling pledges made under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

While Fomca would like to see at least one 'mega-project' over the next five year to spur the economy, the money saved form this bridge project must instead be put into good use, such as in the upgrading of roads and the cleaning of rivers.

Dr Jacob George, Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam (Cassa) president

:

Scrapping the 'scenic bridge' project was a sign of goodwill by the prime minister once again showing that we are willing to take the first step in diffusing bilateral tensions.

Historically, the bridge controversy began due to misunderstanding and arrogance by both sides. But Abdullah is slowly but assuredly moving away from politics of arrogance and towards negotiation.

It is a positive move by the premier as it has shown our goodwill and heralds a turning point in our bilateral ties. The pressure is now on Singapore, as it is left looking like the prodigal son. The ball is now on their court.

Cancelling the project would probably benefit the consumers and rate payers as Singapore would almost definitely have taken legal action which in turn would have stalled the project and caused our government more losses.