The final straw for gutsy Dr M?

BBC seems to think that the scrapping of the crooked bridge was the final straw that broke the camel's back for Dr Mahathir.

Today's report has a tantalising headline.

Mahathir condemns 'gutless' PM

Mahathir Mohamad: "I am unhappy only when you kowtow"

Former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad has accused his successor of surrendering sovereignty to Singapore over his handling of a bridge project.

Dr Mahathir said Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had shown Malaysia was a "country with no guts".

Malaysia began building its half of the bridge in January but abandoned it this month after failing to find agreement with Singapore.

Dr Mahathir remains a powerful force and feared enemy in Malaysian politics.

He chose Mr Abdullah as his successor but has been a frequent critic of the two-and-a-half year administration.

Bilateral tension

Dr Mahathir told reporters on returning from London: "I have promised not to interfere in politics and I have not said anything about many things which were done wrong.

"But this is the limit. To surrender your sovereignty to Singapore as if you are scared of them."

Mr Abdullah scrapped the bridge project this month

Dr Mahathir had earlier criticised the scrapping of a major rail project, a proposed trade deal with the US and the handling of the troubled Proton car company.

The bridge - a project Dr Mahathir visualised in the 1990s - seems to have been the final straw.

"I am unhappy only when you kowtow," he said. "This is our country, yet we have to seek permission from another country to build a bridge on our side. Where is the sovereignty?

"I think this is a... country with no guts."

Malaysia began building the controversial bridge without Singapore's agreement and it has been a major source of bilateral tension.

Malaysia wanted to replace an ageing 1km (0.66 mile) causeway between the two countries with a modern bridge, allowing ships to pass underneath.

It said this would ease congestion on the causeway.

But Singapore said it was concerned about the cost of the project and the impact on the environment.

It suggested a decision on the bridge issue should be part of a package deal on unresolved bilateral issues.

Mr Abdullah is currently in the Caribbean and has made no response to Dr Mahathir's comments.

*****************

Is this war of words going to end on a sour note between the two protagonists, although so far, it has been a pretty one-sided affair going by the deafening silence from Pak Lah's side.

And will the whole thing escalate into something more spicy that it will literally blow up in our faces, dragging everyone down irregardless of where your interest stands?

And what about Singapore? Are they watching the sandiwara with alarm, having been made a party (or pawn?) to this internal power struggle going on across the causeway?

This latest salvo by Dr M has turned the whole nasty affair into something ugly and repulsive. And we are watching from the sidelines with a sickening fascination of what's going to come next. You can almost hear a pin drop.