Disable the link in rails via css or javascript

Hello Rubies,
      We have facility to disabled the link in rails 3 using :disable_with => 'Blah...'. But what about rails lowest version? We have one of the two possible option.

Either use:
1. <a href="javascript:;"> blah blah </a>
or
2. in css define
 .disabled_link{
   cursor: default;
   pointer-events: none;
 }
<a class='disabled_link'> blah blah </a>