Some 100,000 copies of the publication, titled Crooked Bridge, Straight and Transparent Facts, would be distributed to members of the public free at Information Ministry offices nationwide, Deputy Information Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying by local media.

The 43-page booklet contains several official documents that the government declassified recently to rebut Mahathir's allegations that his successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, kowtowed to Singapore's wishes by scrapping the bridge project.

The publication challenges Mahathir's claims that Abdullah's government proposed the sale of Malaysian sand for Singapore's land reclamation projects, as well as over-flight rights for Singaporean air force planes, as bargaining chips to build the bridge.

Mahathir, who retired and handed power to Abdullah in 2003 after 22 years in office, promoted the bridge in the late 1990s to replace a causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore across the narrow strait between them.

However, Abdullah announced in April that the Cabinet had decided to drop the 1.1 billion ringgit (US$306 million; €240 million) project, saying Malaysians were unhappy with Singapore's preconditions for the plan.

The decision - as well as Abdullah's handling of issues such as the national car industry - drew accusations from Mahathir that his successor is bungling economic and national policies. His criticism has triggered concerns of political infighting within Malaysia's ruling party.

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