PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad claimed that Prime Minister Najib Razak didn't speak to him for six months after the former premier questioned the delay of the "crooked bridge" project.

Dr Mahathir, in an exclusive interview with news portal Perak Today, said Mr Najib had told him that there was an agreement between Malaysia and Singapore with regard to the Causeway. Malaysia, he said, could not touch the Causeway if Singapore didn't agree to it.

"I said show me the agreement. (But) there was no such agreement," Dr Mahathir said, adding "for six months, he didn't speak to me."

According to the former prime minister, Mr Najib only spoke to Dr Mahathir again when "Adnan Pahang" intervened, referring to Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob.

Reiterating what he'd spoken about in an interview uploaded on the blog Din Turtle, Dr Mahathir said the bridge was a matter of national pride and could have been built on Malaysia's side if Singapore didn't agree to demolishing the Causeway.

In a special interview with TV3 last week, Najib said Dr Mahathir's attacks against him could have been triggered by their disagreement on the crooked bridge and the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) cash handouts.