A referendum on the contentious half-bridge could end the debate between former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on which is better - to proceed or cancel the project.

"Mahathir may discover democracy late in life but it is better late than never to have a public referendum," said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in a statement today.

He said it was wrong for Backbenchers Club head Shahrir Samad to reject Mahathir's proposal for a referendum just because the latter did not have one when he decided to carry on with the project.

"Two wrongs do not make a right. Just because Mahathir was wrong in not calling for a referendum when he was prime minister does not mean that calling for a referendum is wrong," he added.

Lim said the referendum was necessary because the public was confused that the same cabinet, including Abdullah, which approved the bridge then was opposing it now.

"The public has a right to know why they (the ministers) had then supported the bridge blindly," he added.

Good lesson

He said only a referendum could decide on how such a decision was reached on the validity of Mahathir's contentions that Malaysia had a legal right to remove the water pipes by giving six months notice and that it was not in national or sovereign interests to surrender to Singapore.

Lim described the bridge fiasco as a good lesson for the Barisan Nasional government not to engage in 'reckless commercial adventurism'.

Among the reasons cited for the cancellation by Abdullah were legal complications and restrictions.

Commenting on this, the DAP leader asked why these were not considered before the government decided to build the RM1.3 billion Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex.

"How can the prime minister succeed in creating first-class mentality and human capital formation if senior officials in the Foreign Ministry cannot get the legal basics right?" he asked.

Lim said the Malaysian government's failure to think and plan ahead had not only caused losses running into billions of ringgit but also affected confidence in the professionalism and competency of the government.

On Saturday, Mahathir - whose administration had conceived the bridge project - openly disagreed with the government for scrapping it.

He also dismissed Singapore's claim that relocating the water pipes amounted to an 'act of war'.

The former premier, who said that the developments have saddened him greatly, lamented that Malaysia had lost.